Los Angeles Lakers player Luka Doncic received a technical foul during the team’s win over the Orlando Magic, according to a March 22 report. The incident involved an exchange with Magic center Goga Bitadze, resulting in double technical fouls for both players.
The situation is significant because it marks Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the season, which could lead to an automatic one-game suspension if not rescinded. The Lakers are appealing the call in hopes that Doncic will be available for their next game against the Detroit Pistons.
After the game, Doncic said on Spectrum SportsNet, “I’m definitely hoping [it will get rescinded]. Obviously I let my team down getting that last tech. But honestly, I wasn’t trying to. He said he would f— my whole family and at some point, this is a basketball court, and some point I can’t stand it. I gotta stand up for myself. But I know I gotta do better. My teammates, I know they have my back, so I let them down today, but hopefully it will get rescinded.”
Bitadze responded to these claims in an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN: “I have all the respect for Luka and what he has done,” Bitadze said. “And I really respect everybody’s family. Where I come from, it’s really sacred and we really respect each other’s families, and I would never directly say that. He just said some inappropriate things in the Serbian language, which, I played in Serbia, I understand.
“I don’t know if he knew I understood what he said. So, I just said it back. And it was nothing towards his family or anybody. His family, I really, truly respect them.”
When asked to clarify what was exchanged between them on the court, Bitadze added: “He said something about my mother, which, it’s really inappropriate. We don’t say that stuff during the game… So I just said whatever he told me or [about] my mother [and] said it back.”
Bitadze continued: “It was just in the heat of the moment. I heard what he said, and I felt like I had to respond the same way. So, from my side, if he feels like I said something too much or crossed the line, I apologize as a man. I can take [accountability], but I didn’t say anything but what he said.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick also commented on Spectrum SportsNet: “We’ll obviously try to get that rescinded. I’m not sure what happened,” Redick said. “I do know that there were certain things said in a language the referees couldn’t understand that referenced Luka’s mom… [The refs] didn’t have really good control of that basketball game.”
The Lakers and Magic have completed their regular season matchups and will not face each other again unless they meet in postseason play.