How the Oklahoma City Thunder became the NBA's newest villains - ESPN

AS SOON AS the final buzzer sounded, Austin Reaves stomped out to midcourt to confront crew chief John Goble, delivering a closing argument of sorts after the contentious conversations that occurred between the officials and Los Angeles Lakers throughout Game 2.

Once again, officiating would be a primary focal point following a convincing win by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As LeBron James and several other Lakers surrounded Reaves and the referee on the OKC logo, Oklahoma City's players observed the surreal scene. Laughter broke out among the Thunder, who had seized control of the game with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting on the bench in foul trouble early in the second half.

«Do we get a meeting, too?» Gilgeous-Alexander joked at the moment.

It's not a laughing matter to the Lakers and a lot of others around the league. As a potential dynasty rises in Oklahoma City, there are frequent complaints by competitors about the Thunder getting a friendly whistle.

«I just think it's all distractions away from the court,» Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPN. «That's how I see it. Whether they're right or wrong, the refs have made a call, and unless you challenge it, they're not going to change it.

»It's just another thing I can't control, so I really don't put any thought into it."

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning and likely repeat MVP, and the Thunder are in the midst of a historic stretch of greatness. They joined Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls (1995-97) and Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors (2014-16, '15-17) as the only teams in NBA history to win at least 80% of their games over a two-season span. No team has ever had a better point differential over two years than Oklahoma City.

The discourse about the Thunder —