Portland Trail Blazers protesting their defeat to OKC Thunder has NBA fans saying the same thing
The Portland Trail Blazers are the second-worst team in the Western Conference and struggling mightily without star guard Damian Lillard.
So when the Blazers decided to officially protest a 111-109 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, NBA fans shredded Portland for overreacting to what was technically just another loss in a season already filled with defeats.
"Isn’t the goal to lose for them though?" one fan tweeted.
"Wait, what?" a second fan asked.
"Portland shouldn’t have to go full Karen like this," a third fan posted. "The league should be ashamed of the poor quality refereeing they have allowed this season."
"We really doing this again?" a fourth fan wondered.
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The Blazers are protesting that head coach Chauncey Billups was clearly calling a timeout on the sideline before a Portland turnover, according to .
The NBA rarely upholds protests and it's only happened six times in league history.
The last successful protest occurred in 2007, when Miami center Shaquille O'Neal was incorrectly ruled to have six fouls.
While some fans agreed that the Blazers were treated unfairly in the final minutes, others pointed out that Portland only had itself to blame.
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"They should challenge Phoenix for giving them (Deandre) Ayton," one fan tweeted.
"They never overturn these. What's the point of protesting?" a second fan wrote.
Brogdon was called for a double-dribble near the sideline, giving OKC the ball and setting up a game-winning shot by Jalen Williams with two seconds left.
But the clear turnover by Brogdon enraged Billups, who picked up two technical fouls on the play and was quickly ejected.
The Blazers also lost their cool at a critical moment in the final seconds and set up OKC's game-winner.
“We’ve got timeouts,” Billups said. “Referees usually are prepared for that, you know, that instance, that situation. I’m at half court, trying to call a timeout. It’s just frustrating. My guys played too hard for that, it’s a frustrating play.”
Portland dropped to 12-31 with the defeat.
Only Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs have a worse record in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City kept winning, improving to 30-13 and moving into a tie with Minnesota for the best record in the West.