Kevin Durant got called for a foul in the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 113-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks’ on Thursday evening. It was an extremely unremarkable moment in the context of the game — Luka Doncic shot free throws, he missed both of them, the game went on — but thanks to it, we got a moment that deserves some recognition.
Durant went up to the referee who called the foul, veteran official Ed Malloy, and asked for an explanation for why he did that despite the fact that the way the play panned out meant this was the only way Durant could try to guard Doncic.
Actually cool to see players and refs discussing fouls like that
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— ȶei (@IrvingsGoat) May 7, 2021
It seems like we see a clip of players and referees going at one another multiple times a week, and every now and then, we get stories about how players are mad with how games are being called, while refs are mad at how players react to things, blah blah blah, you know how this cycle goes by now. It is exceedingly rare that we get any, you know, transparency from either side of things that doesn’t feel like it’s some form of damage control.
This, however, is fantastic. It is an honest, straightforward interaction with a player who didn’t like something and the referee who made the call that went against him. Both guys seemed to get where the other was coming from and things stayed cordial the entire time. It’s great! A major reason people have gripes with officiating is that referees aren’t always clear in exactly why they did something, and this was proof that if it’s done right — and, to be clear, that will not always be the case — these sorts of conversations will always be positive additions to watching basketball. More of it, please.