Good News, Lakers Fans: Luka Dončić Won't Be Suspended (For Now)

With less than two minutes left in the third quarter of Saturday’s Lakers-Magic game, fans of the purple and gold squad had a true facepalm moment.

At the 1:20 mark, a referee blew his whistle and pointed at both Luka Dončić and Goga Bitadze. Both were slapped with technical fouls for incessant trash-talking.

For Dončić, this wasn’t just any random tech whistled on a lovely weekend in Orlando. This, in fact, was the 16th technical foul called on the six-time All-Star this season. Why does that matter? Because, as per the NBA’s rulebook, a player who gets whistled for 16 technical fouls in a season will serve a one-game suspension.

Laker fans kept their hands buried in their palms for about 24 hours. Then, some good news arrived.

As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin pointed out in the wake of Dončić’s 16th tech, the league office could still review this call and decide whether to uphold or rescind it. Late Sunday afternoon, Shams Charania tweeted this update: “The NBA has rescinded Lakers star Luka Dončić's 16th technical foul, allowing him to play in Monday's road game against the Detroit Pistons.”

At that moment, a collective sigh of relief was heaved all across the globe. 

Dončić, after all, can ill afford to lose a single game down the stretch. For one, the Lakers (46-25) are still fighting to keep their comfortable perch at the no. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings. With 11 games left on their schedule, they remain wary of teams like the Houston Rockets (43-27), the Denver Nuggets (43-28), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (43-28) catching fire and threatening their playoff position.

Then, there is Dončić’s own prospects for individual accolades. To date, he has missed 12 games this season; under the NBA’s 65-game rule, if a player misses a total of 18 games, he becomes ineligible to win awards like NBA MVP and All-NBA selection. Given Dončić’s averages this season (a league-leading 33.4 points per game, along with 7.9 rpg, 8.4 apg, and 1.6 spg), it would be a shame if the Slovenian guard misses out on hardware just because he couldn’t get to 65 games.

Now, Dončić’s tally of technical fouls is back to 15. If there’s anything he needs to focus on in the Lakers’ home stretch this season, it’s restraint. Too much talking that’s done through his mouth (and not by his brilliance on the court) can cost him.