Carmelo Anthony Says He's 'Done with the Refs' After Thunder Win vs. Kings

Oklahoma City Thunder star Carmelo Anthony said after Monday's 95-88 win over the Sacramento Kings he's "done" with NBA referees.

"I'm done with the refs," Anthony said, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. "No disrespect, but I'm done with those guys."

With 2:51 left in Monday's game, Russell Westbrook was ejected after picking up two technical fouls in rapid succession. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan received a technical as well. As a result of the technicals, what had been an 11-point lead shrunk to eight points after Buddy Hield hit all three free throws.

Monday was merely the tipping point for Anthony after he had already voiced his issues with the state of officiating in the NBA.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the 10-time All-Star discussed how he felt referees were more willing to let players vent their anger for a brief period before defusing the situation and moving on. In Anthony's mind, that isn't the case anymore, per Young:

"And now, the trigger is too quick. You look at somebody wrong, you get a technical foul. You say one wrong thing, you get a technical foul. So I think that's the difference from when I came in, the dialogue and communication and the relationship the players and officials [had] when I first came in and from now is a lot different."

Anthony isn't the first player this year to criticize NBA referees, and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green went so far as to tell The Athletic's Anthony Slater that the league should hire an entirely new set of referees.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in December that Michele Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, met with Lee Seham, the general counsel for the National Basketball Referees Association, to discuss the issue.

While giving a press conference in London ahead of the Boston Celtics' matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters a meeting has been proposed between players and referees at the NBA's All-Star Weekend, which begins Feb. 16 in Los Angeles.