Not normally an ally of NBA officials, Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic came rushing to the defense of one referee in Sacramento on Wednesday, leading to the ejection of a Kings fan.
Late in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 116-103 win, LA’s Jarred Vanderbilt rejected a Malik Monk floater along the baseline, where the ball was caught by a spectator in the front row. That fan proceeded to throw a crisp chest pass back to rookie NBA official Chelisa Painter, who had some minor difficulty receiving the ball.
Painter did not appear to react one way or another to the pass, but an incredulous Doncic was seen confronting the fan and later described what he’d just witnessed.
‘He just tossed – really strong – the ball towards the ref,’ Doncic later told veteran official and crew chief Ed Malloy, as overheard by courtside microphones. ‘I was just asking him what the hell is he doing?’
The Lakers’ broadcasters had a difficult vantage point to see the conflict in the corner of the court and were seemingly bewildered as the fan was confronted by security and quickly ejected.
‘Maybe they are asking somebody to please leave,’ Spectrum SportsNet’s Bill Macdonald said. ‘And there he goes.
‘Obviously something was being said right near the Laker bench,’ Macdonald added.
The fan was tossed after his crisp pass to rookie official Chelisa Painter in Sacramento
Painter did not appear to react one way or another to the pass, but an incredulous Doncic was seen confronting the fan and later described what he’d just witnessed along the baseline
The man appeared to be laughing to himself as he was walked away from his seat by a team of security guards in grey blazers.
The Daily Mail has sought further information about the incident from Kings spokespeople.
Not everyone was convinced of the man’s guilt.
‘He was trying to be helpful, and tossed the ball to her,’ wrote one fan on X. ‘She wasn’t looking, so it hit her, and Doncic decided to white knight the whole thing out of proportion. On the closeup, even the ref didn’t seem to know what was going on. Throwing the fan out was overkill, big time.’
‘Man did nothing!’ another added. ‘They owe him [free] tickets!’
Doncic is not seen as an ally of NBA officials after developing a reputation for arguing calls
NBA official Chelisa Painter did not seem to react to the pass one way or another
And many focused their responses on Doncic, who has developed a reputation for complaining to officials.
While some thought Doncic was justifiably defending the official from an unruly fan (‘well done!’), others saw his meddling as unnecessary.
‘Not a good look for Luka to make a big stink about it,’ one fan remarked.
Doncic’s night had a better ending than the ejected fan did. In 35 minutes, the Slovenian superstar scored 40 points, while adding nine rebounds and seven assists.
He and the Lakers (7-2) are back in action on Friday at home against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers (6-1).
