Back on Dec. 28 when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Sacramento Kings, Luka Doncic and Dennis Schroder were exchanging words with one another for a good chunk of the game.
Dating back to EuroBasket, Schroder eliminated Doncic and those two were animated with each other then. So, tensions were clearly boiling over and it is safe to say that both parties do not get along.
Fortunately, it seemed like it was just words being exchanged and nothing more significant materialized during the game at Crypto.com Arena. However, it was later announced that Schroder took offense to Doncic’s comments during the game and tried to start a physical confrontation with the Lakers star, leading to him being suspended three games.
Some more details of what actually took place have now been reported by Anthony Slater of ESPN:
Things appeared to cool off as the game ended. But Schroder left the visitors locker room at Crypto.com Arena, spotted Doncic and tempers flared again inside the tunnel across from the home bench.
Forty minutes after the buzzer, Schroder went after Doncic, telling Doncic that he can’t call him a “b—-” on the court and pretend everything is fine off the court. The NBA concluded that Schroder attempted to strike Doncic.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton tried to drag away Schroder from the confrontation while a stunned Doncic attempted to exit as security intervened.
Schroder was eventually escorted to the team bus as Kings coach Doug Christie and several teammates sought answers about the sudden drama.
Doncic and his father, Saša, eventually walked to their nearby car and left, as Schroder and his Kings teammates prepared to leave on the team bus.
Whether the Kings guard attempt at a strike landed has yet to be confirmed, but thankfully members from both teams were able to break this meeting up before it got worse. Doncic likes to talk on the court and he is known for his trash talk, so safe to say that Schroder thinks he crossed the line.
One of the comments the Slovenian guard made during that Dec. 28 matchup is telling the former Laker he should’ve signed his contract extension with L.A. back in 2021. The journeyman guard refutes ever having a contract offer, but Doncic is looking to get under his opponent’s skin and it appeared to work.
Monday’s rematch with Sacramento will be must-see theatrics, but as Slater mentioned, due to being suspended three games due to this confrontation, Schroder will be watching from home.
Luka Doncic applauds improvement from Jaxson Hayes
A teammate that Doncic has developed great chemistry with is Jaxson Hayes dating back to last season. Their connection only grew this year and Doncic recently applauded Hayes’ improvement as a player.
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