Report: NBA Rescinds Luka Doncic’s 13th Technical Foul
With Luka Doncic being called for his 13th technical foul of the 2021-22 season during the Dallas Mavericks' 107-103 win over the Golden State Warriors, his complaining to the referees has once again become a focus.
On Tuesday, the NBA announced they had rescinded the technical foul, so now, Doncic is back to only having 12 on the season. He still is within striking distance of the league's limit of 16 technical fouls in a season before receiving an automatic one-game suspension.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
During an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, Doncic was asked about the criticism he's received at times from Mavericks coach Jason Kidd about his tendency to complain to referees — resulting in getting called for technical fouls.
“It won’t come to that. That’s for sure. That’s unacceptable, I can’t do that,” Doncic said when asked if he keeps track of how close he is to the NBA's limit for technical fouls before receiving a suspension.
There was confusion as to why Doncic was even called for the technical foul in the first place. “I said I was going to twist my ankle. That’s all that I said. I’m not going to talk no more,” Doncic told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
In early December, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd called out Doncic for his complaining to the referees in favor of getting back on defense.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
“I would lean towards playing five on five a little bit more [than complaining],” Kidd said. “You’re not going to get any calls. Officials, they tend not to stop the game to change calls. So you’d have to understand . . that there’s a point in time in games, dead ball, to be able to talk to the officials.
“But while the game is going on, transition defense is one of the things that we’ve talked about, that we have to get better. If we’re lobbying for calls during live play, it puts us in harm’s way.”
With Doncic promising to avoid the one-game suspension, having one less to his name for the season certainly will help him to stick to his word.
