OKC Thunder are becoming the NBA's newest villains as rivals pile up complaints about favorable officiating. After Game 2, Austin Reaves confronted referee John Goble while LeBron James and other Lakers gathered around. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, joked from the bench: "Do we get a meeting, too?" The laughter among Thunder players belied genuine frustration leaguewide.

The Thunder have joined Michael Jordan's Bulls and Stephen Curry's Warriors as only teams to win at least 80% of games over a two-season span, with no team posting a better point differential over two years. Gilgeous-Alexander faces "foul baiting" accusations, including from Jaylen Brown after a March 12 loss. OKC's defense ranks the league's stingiest in each of the past two seasons, with Alex Caruso and Lu Dort drawing frequent complaints about physical play.

Draymond Green, no stranger to villain status after the Warriors' dynasty, called the rhetoric "lazy" and "sour grapes." Kerr blamed the league's rules rather than the Thunder: "I don't have a problem with Shai. I have a problem with the rules." When Mike Brown yelled in referee Mitchell Ervin's face, he earned a technical foul. The Thunder's dominance has reignited the same cycle of resentment that chased the Warriors from darlings to villains.