Several fans could not help but see the irony in the play that led to Steph Curry being called for his first career flagrant foul.
The Golden State Warriors star was flagged for a flagrant foul penalty 1 in the first quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Curry was penalized for stepping into the landing space of Thunder guard Isaiah Joe as he lined up to take a three-pointer with just over one second remaining in the period.
Steph received the first flagrant foul of his NBA career for this 😬 pic.twitter.com/o5K3msehQq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 12, 2025
Joe was awarded three free throws, with the Thunder retaining possession.
Curry, who is in his 17th NBA season, had never been called for a flagrant foul before Tuesday’s game. Fans pointed out how ironic it was that Curry’s flagrant-less streak ended because of a hard closeout — something Steph encounters fairly often as the most prolific shooter of all time.
The irony of Steph being called for a landing space flagrant foul
— Charlie Cummings (@klaytheist11) November 12, 2025
I'm not saying that WASN'T a flagrant foul, but it's just annoying cuz nothing ever gets called on Curry.
That and Moody's 3 not counting killed what would've been a cool end of the 1st. #DubNation
— Thiccy Pearsall (@CHilla415) November 12, 2025
They really called that a flagrant foul on Steph for something the league has been doing to him for YEARS
— Louie B (@PaPa_LouieB) November 12, 2025
Calling that a flagrant on Steph when that happens to Steph every single game and he never gets that called in his favor is ridiculous! This league is a joke
— Abeni (@AbeniJewel) November 12, 2025
Defenders have tried all sorts of dirty tricks over the years to minimize Curry’s impact on the offensive end. Marcus Smart even put Steph in a wrestling hold when the Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this season.
While some fans felt that there was a double standard with Curry getting called for a landing space flagrant foul of all things, it’s also telling that he had never been called for one across more than 16 full NBA seasons. If anything, he was due.