Luka Doncic, Dennis Schroder, Lakers
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Dennis Schroder of Germany and Luka Doncic of Slovenia are seen during the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 group B match between Germany and Slovenia at Lanxess Arena on September 06, 2022 in Cologne, Germany.
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic was reportedly taken aback when Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder approached him in the tunnel at Crypto.com Arena after a game on Dec. 28.
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Schroder confronted Doncic nearly 40 minutes after the final buzzer, telling the Lakers guard that he can’t act like a tough guy on the court and not face the consequences. At that point, Lakers center Deandre Ayton tried to calm down the situation before security personnel intervened.
Doncic was reportedly left “stunned” by the incident.
“Lakers center Deandre Ayton tried to drag away Schroder from the confrontation while a stunned Doncic attempted to exit as security intervened,” wrote Slater.
“Schroder was eventually escorted to the team bus as Kings coach Doug Christie and several teammates sought answers about the sudden drama.”
The report added that Doncic and his father, Saša, eventually walked to their nearby car and left the arena, while Schroder and his Kings teammates departed on the team bus.
Doncic-Schroder Confrontation
The postgame exchange was triggered after Doncic and Schroder jawed at each other several times during the Lakers’ 125-101 win over the Kings on Dec. 28, in which Doncic had a game-high 34 points and seven assists. The microphones picked up Doncic calling Schroder the B-word, besides poking fun at him for rejecting a four-year, $82M extension with the Lakers in 2021. Schroder signed a one-year, $5.9M deal with the Boston Celtics that year due to a lack of interest from teams in free agency.
Schroder himself has admitted that he made a mistake by turning down the contract.
Dennis Schroder Suspended
The NBA on Saturday suspended Schroder for three games without pay for “confronting and attempting to strike another player.” While the league office did not name Doncic, a subsequent report from Chris Haynes confirmed that Doncic was the targeted player.
“The NBA today announced that Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder has been suspended three games without pay for confronting and attempting to strike another player,” the league office wrote in a press release.
“The incident occurred approximately 40 minutes following the Kings’ 125-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 28 at Crypto.com Arena, when Schroder sought out the player in an arena hallway and initiated the confrontation.
“Schroder will begin serving his suspension tomorrow when the Kings host the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center.”
According to ESPN, “things appeared to cool off” between Schroder and Doncic after the game on Dec. 28, which is why the latter was “stunned” by the confrontation. The report added that Schroder left the visitors’ locker room at Crypto.com Arena, and when he spotted Doncic, “tempers flared again” inside the tunnel.
“Forty minutes after the buzzer, Schroder went after Doncic, telling Doncic that he can’t call him a “b—-” on the court and pretend everything is fine off the court. The NBA concluded that Schroder attempted to strike Doncic.”
Schrorder and Doncic won’t be on the same court again Monday night when the Kings host the Lakers, as the German will be serving the second of his three-game suspension.