5:38 pm: Doncic has officially been suspended for Monday’s game against Washington, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
7:57 am: Lakers guard Luka Doncic is once again facing a one-game suspension for reaching the season technical foul limit and this time he’s unlikely to get a reprieve, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The Most Valuable Player candidate was whistled for his 16th technical foul in Friday’s 116-99 win over the Nets. It occurred in the third quarter when Doncic and Nets forward Ziaire Williams were assessed double techs following an offensive foul called on Doncic. A video review showed Doncic pushing Williams and Williams retaliating by swiping back at Doncic’s face.
Doncic continued to strengthen his MVP case as the game progressed, as he finished with 41 points.
“[Williams] was yelling in my face — three times,” Doncic said of the altercation. “I just wanted to get out of there. It’s a double tech, of course. What can I say? I didn’t even talk. I just wanted to get out of there. And they said I pushed, my push was ‘exaggerated,’ which [it] was obviously not. And I don’t know what else to tell you.”
The technicals have piled up due to Doncic’s penchant for complaining about calls and getting into scraps with opponents. Coach JJ Redick said the Lakers would appeal the latest one.
If the league denies the appeal, Doncic would miss Monday’s game against the rebuilding Wizards. That shouldn’t prevent the Lakers from collecting another victory. The Lakers beat the Wizards by 31 points when they played them on Jan. 30, McMenamin notes.
A one-game ban would cost Doncic $317K. He’s making $46MM.
The Lakers won an appeal of Doncic’s previous technical, which he picked up against Orlando last Saturday. That allowed Doncic to play against the Pistons the next game, though Detroit came away with a 113-110 win. That was one of just two losses by the Lakers over their last 16 contests.
Doncic is averaging 33.7 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game through 62 outings in his first full season as a Laker.
Does anyone still likes Luka?
I heard his Mom is still a big fan 👍
I still like watching him play but he’s such a whiner.
If he sang music he’d be Sam Smith lol
He’s got so much game. So yes, I like him.
Think someone needs to order this guy a Wambulance. Wah, woh, wah, woh!
If the NBA takes away this T you know he is getting special treatment.
They already rescinded a 16th for him twice before this year, so I think we can already say he gets special treatment.
I’m just glad the basketball gods stepped in last time and gave Detroit the win.
At arc… watch any Laker game, and you know this.
Been getting carried all season. Also, this light part of the schedule now has this team high on confidence and momentum heading into the playoffs.
They don’t need to, Arc. They’re playing the Wizards and don’t need him so the tech can stay.
Perfect game to sit Luka. What i don’t get is why do teams play injured player against tanking teams? If you go against a team that is tanking its a great time to rest a player striuggling with injuries.
Well that didn’t take long.
I don’t many people watched either technical… it’s not close to the level of suspending a superstar.
What about the other 15? The intent of the rule is to curb the constant complaining which hurts fan interest in the game.
I’m not sure I follow. European sports this type of complainy whiny behavior is culturally normal across most of their sports. Are you arguing he must sacrifice his culture to conform to NBA norms?
That seems like quite a can of worms to open.
It’s not a culture thing, it’s a Luka thing.
Except football (the real one, which is played with the foot), I cannot think of one “european” sport where this behaviour is normalized.
The T was BS. He barely put his hand on Williams and Williams flailed and flopped and swung his arm wildly into Doncic’s face. Claxton and Williams were clearly trying to antagonize Doncic, and it was working.
Luka talks a lot. He could have been talking smack to refs already. He’s a diva
All of your statements are true. But did he deserve a T? Shouldn’t the refs try and defuse the Rodman like antics of crap Nets players?
PS – Rodman is a legitimate and deserving hoops legend so no shade, just pointing out that the P Bev, Rodman antics should be better regulated by the refs.
Yeah that’s true. When you got a rep. It works against you sometimes. Plus he could have said some nasty things lol. He’s too much a crybaby to me. He’s too good to be that way.
Luka is the mortal enemy of whatever team you root for, but his verve is appealing. He wears a bad cowboy’s black hat with an evil grin and the ardor of a Spanish matador about to use banderillas on a bull, on your team, on my team, on everyone’s team save the Lakers. He’s Rodman, he’s Loscutoff, he’s Laimbeer. You just gotta love the bad guys, they keep the game edgy, entertaining. They make your voice hoarse yelling at them. Like Doncic? You bet!
He’s not tough like the guys you mentioned. All he does is whine to the refs. Rodman got technicals for kicking people. Laimbeer was the same, he’d smash you in the face.
Luka might get his tears on you but he ain’t going to hit you.
Missed the point! He’s a different kind of bad guy. Right, he’s no smash you in the face bad guy, no Rodman bad guy (who got most of his technical fouls for referee interactions. BUT, Luka is the bad guy you want on your team.
Luka is NO kind of tough guy, but he IS a bad man …
Like Jack Ramsay as a coach — you can’t stand him, he’s a bad guy, until he’s your coach, then he was a good guy.
He’s not bad he’s bitchy lol
Isaiah Stewart, Draymond Green, these are bad guys hell even Dillon Brooks is more modern nba bad guy than Luka will ever be.
Not to get conspiratorial, but this might’ve been intentional. By getting this 16th technical out of the way, he misses a game against the tanking Wizards. To get suspended again, he would have to commit 2 additional technicals, which (you would hope) is fairly unlikely in just 7 games
Yeah I think it’s more about the 670k game check lol
Well, if I wanted to get that 16th technical it would be in a game before playing the Wizards :-)
I love how commenters whine on here about Luka being whiny. Takes one to know one I guess…
So he’s insulated from criticism? lmao
I think everyone who plays basketball professionally is fair game for criticism, I just find it hypocritical to also do the thing you’re criticizing him for
Why are you holding a fan and a player to the same standard? Luka gets one of the best whistles in the game and leads the league in FTA, yet he whines and cries and complains over every single call. Why is it hypocritical to point that out? You’re not making any sense here.
Crikey! The Fakers got a 42-15 FTA advantage. What more does this baby want? And the suspension won’t mean squat. The refs will just protect L.A. more.
Its not like they need him to beat my wizards so its kind of just a day off for him lol.
Always getting crazy free throw discrepancies this lot. Tight game until the 4th against a tanking Nets. The league use to hide their Laker favouritism better than this.
+320 on opponents, lols. Not quite near 23/24 +501. Still time.
When talking about MVP, everyone talks about statistics.
An important statistiv to add in a comparison is amount of technical fouls…
Luka is one of the top five in the league. Haters gonna hate. Put the right players around him and he’ll win a ring.
The one thing that I really hate from him is the complaining after a perceived no-call on offense while the rest of his team is running back and playing D. Can he not see that his lack of participation on the defensive end is only compounding whatever injustice he thought just happened? He is probably correct about 30% of the time on the no-calls, unexceptional, but the failure to wait until a dead ball to assail the refs is inexcusable. A winner, not a whiner, would get back on D. Allowing a five on four only hurts your team.