NBA discourse is just whoever has the biggest megaphone pretending they’re the average fan.
Every fanbase complains about refs, injuries, help, media bias, fake contenders, foul baiting, whatever. The difference is when some fanbases complain, it stays in their own bubble. When it’s Lakers, LeBron, Warriors, Knicks, Celtics, Luka, etc, suddenly it’s the entire NBA conversation for 3 days.
That’s why the OKC/Shai stuff is funny. People have complained about their whistle all year, but now that they’re playing the Lakers, every free throw is suddenly a congressional hearing. Same take, bigger fanbase, way more amplification.
It’s not even that the criticism is always wrong. Sometimes the refs are bad, sometimes Shai foul baits, sometimes teams are overrated. It’s just not applied evenly.
ESPN, Ringer, Twitter, Reddit, meme pages, they all just chase whatever gets clicks. Then the loudest fanbases act like they’re just “the common fan” when really they’re shaping the whole conversation.
NBA discourse isn’t objective, it’s just volume.