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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Ian Casselberry

Thunder’s Similarly Named Players Caused 12-Minute Delay for Confused NBA Referees

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jaylin Williams and Jalen Williams are a problem for the rest of the NBA. However, on Wednesday night, that was an issue for referees, not the Thunder’s opponent. 

During OKC’s game versus the Atlanta Hawks, officials became confused over each player’s foul situations. During the third quarter, referees and statisticians had Jalen Williams with two fouls. However, the official NBA scorebook listed him with three fouls. 

That uncertainty prompted league officials to rewatch the second quarter of the game to determine which Williams had committed each foul to that point. So, everyone had to wait while that video was being reviewed, resulting in a 12-minute delay. Players were shown hanging out by the bench, stretching and staying loose, with Thunder and Hawks chatting on the court. 

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