Luka Doncic is facing heat from fans and experts after the NBA decided to suspend the Los Angeles Lakers star for Monday's game against the Washington Wizards. This comes as the 27-year-old Slovenian picked up his 16th technical foul of the season while scoring 41 points in the 116-99 victory over Brooklyn on Friday night.
Doncic got whistled for a double technical foul with the Nets' Ziaire Williams in the third quarter.
What happened during Lakers vs Nets?
Tensions flared during a heated on-court exchange involving Doncic and Ziaire Williams. The incident began after an offensive foul was called against Doncic. Williams reacted by celebrating emphatically, shouting directly in Doncic’s face multiple times.
As the Slovernian attempted to disengage, he pushed Williams’ arm away. In response, Williams swung back with a backhand motion that appeared to make contact with Doncic’s face.
Officials stopped play and reviewed the sequence before issuing technical fouls to both players.
Doncic’s reaction to the incident
Doncic later expressed frustration with how the situation unfolded and how it was interpreted by referees.
“He was yelling in my face three times,” Doncic said. “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. (The referee) said my push was exaggerated, which (it) was obviously not. I don’t know what else to say.”
Joe Johnson weighs in
Under NBA rules, a player receives an automatic one-game suspension upon accumulating 16 technical fouls in a season. The call was not rescinded, and Donic will miss the Monday game.
Meanwhile, Boston Celtics legend and seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson slammed Donic for hurting the Lakers' chances against the Wizards. Talking on the ‘Nightcap Podcast’, Johnson said: “In the game of hoops you have to be able to control your emotions bro. Understanding what’s at stake, bro they done gave you 15 strikes already. We need you bro!”
MVP run adds to stakes
The controversy comes amid one of the most dominant stretches of Doncic’s career. He is currently leading the league in scoring with 33.7 points per game and is firmly in the MVP conversation.
Doncic has recorded 15 games with 40 or more points this season and is also among the league leaders in assists (8.2 per game) and three-pointers made.
His recent performances include a 60-point outing in Miami, where fans chanted “MVP!”, and a 51-point game against Chicago. He has also scored 30 or more points in 12 straight games.
Recent history with technical fouls
This isn’t the first time Doncic has dealt with a technical foul controversy. Just last week, one of his technicals was rescinded following an altercation with Orlando’s Goga Bitadze.
The league did not publicly explain the reversal, though Doncic claimed Bitadze had insulted his family, an allegation Bitadze denied.
Yash Nitish Bajaj
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yash Nitish Bajaj
Yash Bajaj is a Chief Content Producer with a strong foundation in US coverage, digital strategy, and audience-focused storytelling. As part of the US Desk at Hindustan Times, he covers a wide range of topics - from American politics to sports (NFL, NBA, derbies, MLB and more). Before joining Hindustan Times, Yash served as Deputy News Editor at Times Now, where he oversaw international coverage and led a team of six. In this role, he significantly expanded global traffic through strategic planning, SEO-driven content execution, and meticulous trend tracking across platforms. He is experienced in managing high-pressure breaking-news shifts, coordinating live coverage, and building newsroom systems that improve speed, accuracy, and reach. Prior to Times Now, Yash held a position at Opoyi, where he headed the Sports and US news team. He developed broad editorial strategies, guided reporters across multiple beats, and played a key role in recruiting and training new talent. His responsibilities also extended to social media management and experimenting with innovative content formats. A passionate NFL fan, Yash is a die-hard supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals and has followed Joe Burrow closely since his college days at LSU. Whether breaking down top players' latest performance, analyzing team performances, or tracking roster moves, he brings the same dedication and sharp storytelling to his sports coverage as he does to American politics and breaking news. When he’s not writing, Yash can often be found watching games or debating the latest NFL storylines with fellow fans. Yash holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) from HR College, Mumbai University. His interests extend well beyond the newsroom: he is an enthusiastic explorer of AI tools, a movie buff with an ever-growing watchlist, and someone who enjoys unraveling conspiracy theories for fun.Read More
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