Former Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut spoke on a recent podcast about how the refs let him get away with anything when it came to physical play.Ā
For over a decade, the face of illegal screens in the NBA seemed to be former NBA center Andrew Bogut.
Bogut embraced this identity, saying in 2019 that the illegal screen he set nine seconds into his welcome back to the NBA was his āwelcome to the league.ā
ClutchPointsā Mark Abel noted that Bogut, who was the NBL MVP and Defensive Player of the Year that same year, may have been accustomed to a more aggressive style of play in Australiaās league. Even still, Bogut spent many years in the NBA sneaking in illegal screens whenever he couldāand apparently, Golden State referees let him get away with it.
Bogut recently spoke on the Ryen Russillo Podcast, delving into why Golden State let him āliterally clotheslineā opponents without consequence.
Former Warriors center Andrew Bogut explained just how much refs let him slide
On the podcast, Bogut explained that because the Golden State Warriors championship run was so exhilarating for the underdog team, the refs got caught up in the excitement and failed to call fouls on Bogut. Bogut even said that refs would see him clearly make illegal plays and all they would say was āwow.ā
"āOne thing that was crazy about that run was the s*** that I used to get away with screening, man it was all time.I knew if I was in Milwaukee and I set that Iād foul out in the first quarter, but playing in Golden State, when they started to become that underdog team that was building up, I knew once Steph or Klay got hot, the refs would be in the moment as well.I could literally clothesline someone off the next pindown, I know Klay just hit 3 in a row, the crowdās on their feet as heās getting his 4th and I could punch somebody in the face on a screen, knock em out and they wouldnāt call it. Klay would get his 4th 3, and even the refs would go āWowā (and ignore it), it was crazy.Then I get traded to Dallas to set those same screens and Iād get 3 fouls in the first quarter, It was just crazy with the stuff I used to get away with there.ā"
For everyone who implored why Bogut terrorized the league with illegal screens and got away with it, which gave the impression that Golden State didnāt play fair, Bogut himself agrees: he shouldnāt have gotten away with all of those calls.