One of the biggest complaints from fans during the 2026 playoffs has been the low standards of officiating. However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday refused to acknowledge the issue, instead claiming the officiating was above par and “incredible,” much to the fans’ annoyance.
Silver was put on the spot about the officiating by Pat McAfee on his show, as the analyst questioned the commissioner about the “flopping” issue. While the NBA head acknowledged the problem, he believed the officials were doing their jobs well, and that a few missed calls were only part of the job.
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“It’s been a conversation. I would only say that there is a difference between selling a call, exaggeration and a true flop,” Silver said. “For me, if they are not fooling the referee its okay, players are taught to sell calls these days.”
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Continuing to discuss the matter, Silver claimed the league was always trying to better the standards of officiating but believed the standard now is “incredible.”
“Can officiating get better? Of course, we are always working on that. Can officials get fooled occasionally? We are always looking out as always, (but) the officiating is incredible,” Silver continued.
Hater Report later shared a clip of this interaction on X (formerly Twitter), calling out Silver for being in “denial” about the officiating.
“Adam Silver is either in DENIAL or he’s just flat out LYING. Pat McAfee brought up the OKC Thunder flopping,” Hater Report wrote.
Fans quickly joined the handle in slamming the commissioner, highlighting the frustrations audiences have over the current officiating standards.
While many were frustrated by Silver’s “incredible” remark, a few agreed with the commissioner.
Though opinions remain divided about the officiating, it remains to be seen if the NBA will take any measures to reduce flopping during games.
Adam Silver claims that a new system is in development to improve out-of-bounds calls
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the officiating issues faced in the NBA to a certain extent during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday.
While he claimed the officials’ calls were mostly “incredible,” he did reflect on a few missed calls during the Western Conference finals, including an out-of-bounds call in favor of the Spurs that was not given.
Speaking on that play, Silver claimed the league was working on introducing a new AI-powered system that would call out-of-bounds decisions automatically, similar to the technology used in tennis Grand Slams.
“Just like you’re a tennis fan and they have what they call Hawkeye,” Silver said (Timestamp: 8:41). “We’re going to move to a system like that where that whole category of calls will be automatic.
“Done by an AI automated system with cameras lined around the court.”
While Silver did not offer a timeline for when the technology will be in use, it will be groundbreaking to have such objective calls no longer in the hands of referees.
Edited by Arian Kashyap
