"SGA nanny reffing" - NBA fans abuzz over Tony Brothers officiating Mavericks vs Thunder pivotal Game 6

NBA fans online are abuzz after it was announced that Tony Brothers will be officiating Game 6 of the Dallas Mavericks vs. OKC Thunder series. Brothers is one of the veteran officials in the league, but he's also one of the most talked about along with Scott Foster.

The Mavericks are one win away from their second Western Conference finals in three years. However, some fans are afraid that Brothers will fall for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's foul baiting, which could lead to a potential win for the Thunder and force a Game 7.

Brothers has been involved in some controversy over the years and most recently became viral when he called a technical foul on Jayson Tatum earlier this week. Tatum did a hand wave, which was the veteran official's pet peeve for calling technicals.

NBA fans cannot believe that Tony Brothers will officiate a very important game even though he has refereed almost 200 postseason contests. Some fans believe that Brothers will favor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is probably one of the best in getting foul calls.

"SGA nanny reffing...oh man. It just can't be worse than this. So game 7 it is," a fan claimed.

"Free throws incoming," another fan commented.

"SGA MINIMUM 22 free throws tonight," one fan remarked.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best players in the NBA today, finishing runner-up in MVP voting, behind Nikola Jokic. SGA has turned into a superstar, but some fans are not fond of his foul-baiting tactics.

"Congratulations to SGA on his incoming 18 free throw attempts," one fan commented.

"NBA [lants this crew to rig games….Mavs will need to be 25 points better to win this game," a fan claimed.

"Tony Brothers aka the extender for the Thunder. Scott foster would be the closer," another fan wrote.

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What happened between Tony Brothers and Jayson Tatum?

What happened between Tony Brothers and Jayson Tatum?

In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, an NBA official called a technical foul on Jayson Tatum toward the end of the second quarter. The video went viral because Tatum didn't do anything hostile and just waved at Tony Brothers.

However, Brothers reportedly doesn't like the gesture and will always blow the whistle if you wave at him. ESPN's Tim Bontemps explained that the veteran referee could have also called a second technical foul on Tatum for arguing but didn't.

"Jayson Tatum got one technical, and was lucky he didn't get a second one, from Tony Brothers after giving him the hand wave after not getting a foul call on that last 3-pointer & then getting very upset at the tech afterward. Brothers will always call that tech on a hand wave," Bontemps wrote.

Brothers was once suspended for a game by the NBA after reportedly calling Spencer Dinwiddie a "b*tch ass motherf*cker" in late 2022.