Luka Doncic has been sidelined for the entirety of the Lakers vs. Rockets first-round series. But that hasn’t stopped him from engaging in trash-talk even from the Lakers’ bench.
A video shot during Game 4 of the first-round series has now surfaced on social media, capturing the Slovenian star seemingly trash-talking the Rockets’ star player, Alperen Sengun, as the Turkish All-Star missed a free throw.
“Baby, baby Capela,” Doncic appeared to yell from the bench. This seems to be a clever dig at Sengun, combining the previous signs of a budding rivalry between the two franchises.
luka saying “baby, baby capela”???😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/IaWisR2iuP
— milo𓆉🇵🇸🇸🇩 (@TT11986) April 27, 2026
Earlier in the season, Clint Capela caught a stray dig from Deandre Ayton, who was trying to make a point about the Lakers inefficiently using him on the offensive end. Capela also responded when Ayton messed up against the Suns a few days later.
Doncic seemingly combined that with Alperen Sengun, famously being nicknamed “Baby Jokic,” to take a shot at his inefficiency from the free-throw line. The Lakers’ star seemed to remind Sengun of one of his biggest weaknesses, which is free-throw shooting.
The Rockets’ All-Star finished the game with 19 points, six rebounds, and two assists while going 6-12 from the field (50.0 FG%) and 7-13 from the free-throw line (53.8 FT%).
Sengun is a 69.9% shooter from the free-throw line for his career, while Clint Capela shoots with a career 54.6% efficiency from the line. This was not the first time in this series that Doncic was caught on video making remarks about the Rockets’ players during this series.
In Game 3, Doncic was seen making fun of Alperen Sengun’s body movements and Reed Sheppard missing a clutch free throw. At this point, it is obvious that Doncic is itching to come back to action from his hamstring injury.
Luka Doncic on the bench mocking Alperen Sengun’s movement 👀pic.twitter.com/EIiU03CDhw
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) April 25, 2026
JJ Redick gave an update on Doncic’s progress in practice before Game 4. According to Dr. Jesse Morse, a sports injury expert, it appeared that Doncic was still 10-14 days away from his return. Therefore, until then, Doncic will likely do everything he can to boost his team’s morale from the bench.
LMFAOOO Luka Doncic on the bench letting Reed Sheppard know he stinks after missing a technical free throw 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/DrqkBvLGnE
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) April 25, 2026
But Doncic was not the only player involved in trash-talk. Apparently, the Rockets’ forward, Jae’Sean Tate, also hurled a few curse words at the Lakers’ bench, which they later reported to the officials, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Tate’s apparent confidence despite being down 1-3 in the series to the Lakers reflects the intensity with which both teams are going against each other in the playoffs.
It is more likely that Doncic has nothing personal against Sengun but was only being supportive of his teammate, Deandre Ayton, who had been ejected from the game.
The night did not end without more controversy as the Lakers’ rookie, Adou Thiero, was also ejected with the Rockets’ Aaron Holiday just minutes before the game ended. And apparently, Luka Doncic has offered to pay the resulting fine for the Lakers’ rookie.
Hence, it is reasonable to conclude that the Slovenian star is doing everything he can to boost his team’s morale from the sidelines as they are in a commanding 3-1 lead over the Rockets.
Whether or not we will see the Slovenian star in this series is yet to be confirmed, but since the Lakers are the favorites now to qualify for the second round, it is more prudent for the Lakers to keep him sidelined until then.
