Los Angeles Lakers superstar was ejected from a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after receiving his second technical foul of the evening, but it was all a big misunderstanding.
Doncic, who already had one technical foul earlier in the evening, received a technical foul in the fourth quarter of a one-point game against the top-seeded Thunder after a back-and-forth interaction with a fan. But the jarring happened within the proximity of NBA referee J.T. Orr and in the postgame pool report, crew chief Tony Brothers explained that Doncic looked “directly at an official” and used “vulgar” language.
You can watch the clip below to decide for yourself if Doncic was talking to Orr or the fan:
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Oklahoma City fan is named Jeremy Price.
He apparently calls himself The Courtside Tattoo Dude and has “engaged in trash talk” with Doncic before. Price told Lakers All Day Everything that during this particular interaction, he told Doncic his shot was “short” before it went in.
As noted by Jason Gallagher, the fan and Doncic are “known” for their playful banter whenever Doncic visits Oklahoma City.
Lakers teammate Jared Vanderbilt said that the referee refused to talk to Doncic about the incident and that it “seemed personal” at that point. LeBron James also said that he felt the ejection seemed “personal” as well.
