LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic has been suspended for one game, to be served Monday against the Washington Wizards, the NBA announced, electing not to rescind the Slovenian star’s 16th technical foul Saturday afternoon.
Doncic skirted a one-game suspension earlier this week – when the NBA removed a technical foul he earned for a verbal altercation against the Orlando Magic – but he was not as lucky the second time around. The officials deemed that midway through the third quarter that the double technical foul Doncic and Ziaire Williams received Friday night during a post-Doncic offensive foul would stand. The NBA confirmed the suspension in a Saturday press release.
“He was in my face three times,” Doncic said Friday night, when the Lakers defeated the Nets 116-99. “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, (that) my push was exaggerated, which was obviously not. And I don’t know what else to tell you.”
Doncic had come close, ending two seasons with 15 technical fouls, one below the suspension-enforcing 16th foul. But Monday will be the first time the 27-year-old guard has been punished by the league after having a 16th technical foul rescinded once before in 2023.
The back-to-back Western Conference Player of the Week, who was questionable with left hamstring soreness for Friday’s game before being upgraded to available, will now get three consecutive days of rest before the Lakers (48-26) host the postseason-contending Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday for the second of a back-to-back set.
For every two following technical fouls, Doncic would be suspended an additional game. The Lakers have eight games remaining in the season.
LeBron to Bronny for the record
Anything that LeBron and Bronny James do on the court together will be distinctly their own, unlikely to be replicated in the annals of NBA history. On Friday night, the father-son Lakers duo accomplished another first.
Trailing by five to the Nets in the second quarter, LeBron James drew a double team, which pulled forward Jalen Wilson away from Bronny James. The 41-year-old star flipped the ball back to his son, who pump faked a pass to Jarred Vanderbilt in the corner before firing from the left wing to drain a 3-pointer.
With that play, the Jameses recorded the first father-to-son assist in NBA history.
“It was a special moment with us two and a lot more to come down the road,” Bronny James said.
“Well, I just think just not take it for granted and just being in a moment of us being on the floor once again, that’s two games back to back, playing meaningful minutes,” LeBron James said, adding that he relished the fact that his son was making an impactful play, helping halt a Brooklyn run.
“I got doubled and he was able to the fake the pass to the corner and then knock down the three. So definitely a cool moment for us and also for the family.”
Bronny James was firmly in rotation minutes Wednesday night in Indianapolis, helping the Lakers who were without the likes of Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton due to injury. On Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick said the 21-year-old guard entered due to the lack of a dead-ball timeout in the first quarter, which adjusted Austin Reaves’ minutes and required the Lakers putting another ballhandler on the floor.
That player was Bronny James, and he took advantage for the second straight game.
“He’s always ready to play,” Redick said. “And hit a big three when … things were getting a little wayward there in the second quarter with some turnovers. And you know, I just, I’m really happy with where he’s at, and very confident where he’s going to be as a player.”
For Bronny James, moments like Wednesday and Friday, playing significant minutes for the Lakers, encompass his “dream come true.”
“I’ve been wanting to play basketball my whole life, so I knew that was going to be my job at some point,” he said. “I’m so privileged to be able to play basketball for a job and I love every single second of it. My teammates embrace it. I’m best friends with all my teammates and my coaches. I’m just happy to be here.”