Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder couldn’t contain himself after last month’s 125-101 loss to the Lakers. Following a dominant display from the home team, he took action that has resulted in a three-game suspension.
“The NBA today announced that Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder has been suspended three games without pay for confronting and attempting to strike another player,” wrote the NBA in a statement. “The incident occurred approximately 40 minutes following the Kings’ 125-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 28 at Crypto.com Arena, when Schroder sought out the player in an arena hallway and initiated the confrontation. Schroder will begin serving his suspension tomorrow when the Kings host the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center.”
Schroder finished with 11 points, two rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block on 50.0% shooting (0-2 from three) in the game. He was -7 in 19 minutes of play. We now know the player to be Luka Doncic, who finished the game with 34 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block on 47.8% shooting and 35.7% shooting from three.
For reference, Jose Alvarado was only suspended for two games for punching Mark Williams in the face, a violent and reckless act that occurred in front of everyone. In this case, Schroder didn’t even make contact with Doncic to earn a three-game suspension.
With so few details on the incident, we can only guess what might have set him off. Whether it was Luka’s foul-baiting antics or simply trash talk gone too far, it was enough for Schroder to abandon all self-control after that final buzzer.
So far, the best evidence we have of how it started is a heated on-court exchange caught by a courtside fan. You can see Schroder and Luka exchange some words in a clip that is going viral online.
This is why he was mad😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/K4kfKCuAsI
— TheWarriorsHouse (@GSWarriorsHouse) January 11, 2026
The 32-year-old guard is now set to miss nearly a week of action for a Kings team that’s lost seven straight games. The soonest he can return is next Friday against the Wizards, leaving Sacramento without one of their primary bench scorers.
The setbacks only pile on to what has been a difficult season for the team. At 8-30, the Kings are dead last in the West with no direction, no identity, and no young star to build around. While Schroder has been a productive player for them, he’s been involved in trade rumors for months as the front office rethinks their approach.
It’s possible that Schroder’s post-game rage that day was just the culmination of months of frustration. More likely, however, it was something far more personal that nearly turned physical. The NBA had to send a message, and it’s one that Schroder will not soon forget.
