This season, it seems like the relationship between NBA players and NBA referees has been pretty tense overall.Seemingly after each call, one team is visibly upset about something.With the advent of slow-motion replays, the job of an official has become even more magnified and critiqued than it has been in the past. But, for the most part, referees do an excellent job of maintaining order and adhering to the defined rules that the league operates under.Although most players have a love-hate relationship with the refs, one person in particular feels as though he's always on the wrong end of calls.After the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 112-105 on Monday, Paul George made quite the claim about how he and his teammates have been treated by officials all season long, saying that he, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony are “officiated differently” than other stars in the league."It's tough. We're so aggressive; we play at the rim constantly," George said, per ESPN’s Royce Young. "We're just officiated differently, all three of us. And it's tough. At least one of us [should] get the benefit of the doubt. But when we're on that floor, no one is getting the better side of that whistle. But we're going to keep attacking, we're going to keep being aggressive. That's our job, to put pressure on them. At some point it's gotta work out for us.”In Monday’s game, the Thunder went 17-for-20 from the free throw line as a team and the Magic went 15-for-21. Therefore, the disparity between the two teams wasn’t significant. It is worth mentioning, however, that George went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe while Westbrook went just 2-for-2 and Melo didn’t attempt a single free throw.But, judging by one important stat, George’s entire argument might not have any legs. Of 125 players to take at least 200 shots in the paint this season, he has been fouled 31 percent of the time, which actually is the highest rate in the entire NBA.

Despite that, this isn’t a new thought for George. In November, he made the claim for the first time.

"Every night, we haven't been getting the benefit of the doubt," George said on November 5. ”I don't know what it is, especially for Russ. He attacks the basket, and so many of his plays at the rim are questionable, and he's not getting the benefit of the doubt."

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan echoed PG-13’s words.

"Yeah, I do. I do," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said on Tuesday when asked whether he sees George not getting a lot of whistles. "Same thing with Russell, too. Those guys are aggressive players, and listen, there are calls that are missed, there just are. He's gotten fouled, and he's not getting to the line. I think the same thing can be said for Russell. And I'm not trying to get into, like, every single play call, but as much as those two guys are in the lane, they need to be at the free throw line more than they're at the free throw line, in my opinion."

It remains to be seen if the words of George and Donovan effect the officiating that OKC will experience for the rest of the season.