Luka Doncic fined $35,000 for gesture during Mavericks-Warriors

Mar 24, 2023 - 9:08 PM

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Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 for his gesture to officials insinuating that they were paid during the Dallas Mavericks game versus the Golden State Warriors per Shams Charania.

Doncic was visibly frustrated with what he felt were some missed calls. Ironically in the last two minutes report, the only call the league felt officials missed in the last two minutes was a travel by Doncic himself which went uncalled. (Author’s opinion note, there were two very blatant fouls by Draymond Green during this segment which the NBA incorrectly identified as correct no calls in the last two minutes report).

This continues a trend of Doncic becoming even more irate regarding the officials lately. To put it simply, he has to get control of himself. Doncic is absolutely correct that he gets hammered without foul calls a stunning amount of time. He was even horse collared by Kevon Looney on the out-of-bounds play which led to the confusion in the third quarter.

It is natural for him to be upset about such missed foul calls. But he also benefits from an incredibly friendly whistle at times. Doncic is a master at manipulating the space on the court. One of the ways he controls that space is by creating contact with defenders. That contact, which Doncic creates, is often called a defensive foul. Doncic is third in the NBA in free throw attempts behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. Fans of other teams believe both of those players receive extremely friendly whistles. Fans of other teams believe Doncic’s whistle is equally friendly.

Doncic is an outrageous talent. He is perhaps the greatest offensive engine the NBA has ever seen despite his precocious age. Yet, he has not maximized his effectiveness because he spends too much of his time and energy complaining to officials.

It is important to note that I whine about officials more than anyone you will ever meet. Ardent fans of most teams believe that their best players should shoot more free throws. The difference is that I cannot change the outcome of a game. At no point that I or any other fan is complaining should we be getting back on defense. All too often while Doncic is complaining, the other team is scoring.

Doncic is a fiery player, who uses his emotions to get the most out of himself. That emotion needs to remain a part of his game, but it needs to be channeled better. The next time Doncic is upset about a call, rather than throwing a fit, he should remember that he has likely gotten a few calls that equally enraged the other team. Doncic can’t get every call, but he can accept that he gets enough of them to live with the ones he doesn’t.