Luka Doncic has come under fire from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst after Game 3 of the NBA Finals, where Luka fouled out in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks fell to a 0-3 series deficit. Windhorst delved deeper into Doncic’s poor behavior with officials, sharing how he flamed out of the 2023 FIBA World Cup for Slovenia.
“Last summer, I was in Manila for the FIBA World Cup and Luka was playing for Slovenia… Trying to qualify against Canada and Luka completely lost his cool in that game, an elimination game for Slovenia. He was screaming at the officials, he was screaming at the Secretary General of FIBA at halfcourt, and he gets ejected. Here we are tonight, in a vitally important game, and here’s Luka again being more focused on the officials than he was on his team.”
Windhorst complimented Doncic and said that he wholeheartedly believes that Luka will eventually win a title for the Mavericks. He went on to reveal that Doncic has been begged by teammates, coaches, and Slovenians to stop complaining.
“His teammates have begged him, his coaches have begged him, his countrymen have begged him, and he just isn’t getting over the hump… I don’t know how many times we see it happen before Luka understands what it means to graduate to the next level and show leadership, because he wasn’t able to do it tonight.”
Windhorst’s initial comments after the game were more explosive, as he criticized Doncic for complaining about the officials after the loss and tore in on his poor defense and constant complaining to the referee.
“This defensive performance is unacceptable. He’s a hole on the court and the Celtics are attacking him and they are ahead in this series because they have attacked him defensively. You have a situation where Luka is complaining about the officiating. They have begged him, they have talked with him, they have pleaded with him, he’s costing his team because of how he treats the officials. He’s a brilliant player, he does so many things well, they’re here because of how he did. His performance in this game was unacceptable and the reason why the Mavericks won’t win.”
Doncic put up 26 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 11-27 shooting (40.7%) from the field in Game 3. His contributions to the team were invaluable, with the Mavericks outscoring the Celtics by nine points when Doncic was on the court.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t there in the last four minutes because of his own actions, which is what ultimately decided the game.
Luka Doncic Was Pissed At The Referees
Windhorst’s criticism followed Doncic’s post-game comments about the officials, where the Slovenian sensation complained about the lack of physical play. He seemed to be pretty shocked that he fouled out in an NBA Finals game.
“I mean, I don’t know. We couldn’t play physical so, I don’t know. I don’t want to say nothing but six fouls in the NBA Finals… Come on man, better than that.”
Doncic is phenomenal and nothing in the Finals can take away from the fact that he led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals as a No. 5 seed, beating three teams with 50+ win records on their way there. But comments like these show why analysts like Windhorst come after him the way we saw last night.
The referees may need to be better, but Doncic needing to be better is more crucial than all. This series might have already slipped out of the Mavericks’ fingers, but they will hope this serves as a learning experience for their 25-year-old star next season.
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