Luka Dončić may have avoided a technical against the Knicks on Sunday, but he did not avoid punishment.
Teetering on the edge of an automatic one-game suspension if he receives one more technical, Luka has been a toned-down version of himself with regard to the refs over recent games. However, that doesn’t mean he’s been totally innocent.
On Tuesday, the NBA announced a $50,000 fine for Luka for “an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official.”
What was the gesture he made to receive this fine? Well, ironically enough, it was a money gesture to the officials after not getting a foul call while trying to draw a charge.
Honestly, deserved.
Really, it’s lucky the officials didn’t see it in real time because it would have led to a technical foul on the court, too. All things considered, a $50k fine instead of a one-game suspension, particularly if it would have come against the Wolves in a big game for playoff seeding, is a trade-off you’ll take.
Luka has been forced to play nice with the officials for the remainder of the season, a proposition that feels awfully daunting. With the Lakers having 18 more games before the playoffs, it feels unlikely he’ll be able to avoid getting another technical in that span.
Even in a game where he was largely fine when it came to officials against the Knicks, he still did this. It just feels unlikely he’s going to avoid getting that last technical before being suspended. The hope is that it comes at a beneficial time for the Lakers in the schedule and doesn’t cost them another game.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
