Luka Doncic avoids hefty fine after swallowing brutal words for controversial NBA referees

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic has made it a habit of constantly complaining to referees about calls.

Luka Doncic avoids hefty fine after swallowing brutal words for controversial NBA referees

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic was the de facto leader for the Los Angeles Lakers as they took on the Brooklyn Nets earlier. With LeBron James out, the onus was on him and the rest of the players to continue their winning streak to hold on to 2nd place in the West.

Against the Nets, Luka Doncic and his almost entirely new starting lineup went ballistic in the first quarter. But then, in the second, the game reversed course as the Nets started to gain momentum after officials were calling a lot of fouls on the Lakers.

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So much so that the Slovenian did not have a free throw attempt for much of the first half, whereas the Nets garnered a lot. Social media was abuzz with this discrepancy as the Lakers tried to get back into the game.

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Late in the fourth quarter, the 25-year-old scored a basket and drew a whistle. But referees did not acknowledge the basket leading to further frustrations. After the 108-111 loss, the superstar was asked if he felt the officiating was a mess.

It wasn’t fair, but just gotta play the game. I’m not gonna say anything. But I think everybody saw the game, so, they know what happened.

Luka Doncic said

This was Luka Doncic trying his best to avoid talking about the officiating. He knows the league will issue a fine if he did speak up. But his words lean into that narrative as it was evident that referees did not officiate the game fairly.

Skip Bayless believes Luka Doncic received karma for his past outbursts

Skip Bayless, the veteran analyst was one of those who watched the Los Angeles Lakers take on the lowly Brooklyn Nets with one purpose. He wanted to see how Luka Doncic and the rest of the players fared without LeBron James and other stars. During the game, he tweeted this.

Luka just got a tech. Bet you refs get sick and tired of his complaining. He turns to them AFTER EVERY SINGLE CALL OR NONCALL, arms outstretched, incredulous.

Skip Bayless wrote

That is the veteran analyst pointing at possible karma for Luka Doncic. He believes the Slovenian reverted to the antics against referees he has been showing over the past couple of years. Now it seems the officials were tired of it and issued a technical foul on Doncic. That along with several no-calls was essentially karma returning.

Skip Bayless' tweet
Skip Bayless’ tweet (Image via SS/X)

This theory might be true. The 25-year-old has often been caught out of defense due to his incessant complaints. Fans have seen what happens in the past. Even if he is on a new team, his attitude towards foul calls has not changed.