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.
The tense situation between Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic and Sacramento Kings point guard Dennis Schroder is deeper than fans realize. Recent drama showed Doncic and Schroder having little love for each other during moments of trash talk that led to them being separated. Schroder was suspended for allegedly confronting Luka in the locker room area, with some rumors claiming punches were thrown.
However, Shams Charania reported on ESPN that this beef goes all the way back to Olympic play during the offseason when both men represented their respective countries:
“So, why did Dennis Schroder go about this path? My understanding is Luka Doncic has been calling him the ‘B’ word for the last few games, even going back to the offseason when they played each other in Olympic play.
And so, Dennis Schröder’s point is listen, if you’re going to call me the ‘B’ word on the court, you have to expect that I’m not just going to take that lightly off the court.”
Doncic clearly loves talking trash to others and was caught saying some disrespectful things to Schroder during the most recent game. If Shams is right about the insults lasting this long going back to the offseason, Schroder’s reaction makes a lot more sense now.
How Luka Doncic Upset Dennis Schroder
Shams made it clear the insulting swear towards Schroder by Doncic started the hostility. Schroder takes exception to another player calling him the B word and smiling while doing so. Luka is easily the better player, so he always has more chances to talk trash, and it often feels like he’s picking on someone below him in the NBA pecking order.
Fan-filmed camera angles caught Doncic also mocking Schroder for not taking the Lakers contract offer many seasons ago and missing out on the biggest contract of his career. Time has seen Schroder becoming a role player who bounces from team to team each season and is often on the trade block after that decision.
Luka both calling him offensive insults and mocking his career choices caused Schroder to escalate the situation. Schroder’s suspension being three games is very rare for the NBA, so he absolutely crossed some lines to find Doncic after their most recent game as opponents.
Why Does Luka Doncic Taunt Schroder?
The Luka side of this story is more confusing since it makes little sense to always pick on the same role player. Schroder is a respected veteran around the league, but he also has a reputation for loving to talk boldly to others.
Incidents involving big names like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving showed that Schroder is not afraid to butt heads with the top stars. Doncic likely took the trash talk to more personal levels after Schroder said some things to him to keep the situation escalating.
Luka has not wanted to make things physical since he usually just talks or laughs at Schroder, but the hostility reached a boiling point. The Olympic games starting this beef is also relevant since international players take representing their country as a bigger source of pride even more than NBA success.