No matter how quickly the Phoenix Suns are knocked out of the postseason by the Oklahoma City Thunder, one player who can exit with his head held his is Oso Ighodaro.
The second year forward proving in this series that he can spend minutes as a small ball five, while he appears more comfortable than ever with his spot in the rotation. Even if his offense still needs work.
Ighodaro refuses to blame referees for Game 2 loss
Speaking to the media ahead of Game 3, it was admirable to hear Ighodaro refuse to use the excuse of the referees as the reason his side lost Game 2 either.
"I've seen all the stuff that's been going viral, but if I'm being honest, we didn't lose last game because of the officials."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 24, 2026
Suns big Oso Ighodaro on 120-107 Game 2 loss.
"We have to be better. There's bad calls both directions. I don't think that's going to change the game… pic.twitter.com/HQbjThtxB3
That is the kind of attitude head coach Jordan Ott will love to see, although Ighodaro isn't totally correct on this either.
The entire NBA appears to have turned on the Thunder for their antics in getting Devin Booker the most ridiculous tech of his career, and the officiating in general hurt the Suns' flow in the game.
Two things can be true at once, the referees appeared to favor the Thunder while the Suns weren't good enough to win the game even if every decision was being split down the middle.
But for Ighodaro to turn down the low hanging fruit of blaming the officials is admirable, and it may also have a positive impact for the remainder of the series.
Whether you want to admit it or not, officials can be swayed by what they hear and see in the media, and Ighodaro refusing to blame them can only be viewed as a good thing.
We've seen a different approach from Minnesota Timberwolves' head coach Chris Finch also work for a period of time before as well.
He went public earlier this season (being hit with the same $35,000 fine as Booker in the process) about how difficult it is to guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the perceived whistle he gets.
After that happened there was a period of time in which "SGA" did not enjoy the calls he had been getting, so what Ighodaro has done here could actually be very clever.
He's not calling out the referees while also talking about what happened, and that could lead to more friendly calls with the series moving back to The Valley.
Ighodaro is right either way though, the Suns haven't been good enough to win either game so far and it is on them to change that in Game 3.
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