NBA Fines Luka Doncic for Flopping; Dallas Mavs Star Responds with Hilarious Practice Costume
Although Luka Doncic had a near-flawless Tuesday night, as he poured in 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists with zero turnovers in the Dallas Mavericks' 121-115 win over the Houston Rockets, he ended up having to pay a chunk of change for a flop that occurred early in the game.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Doncic was assessed a "postgame flopping fine" of $2,000 for a play early in the first quarter where the Mavs' superstar shot a 3-pointer over Rockets' Dillion Brooks while falling down with what appeared to be no contact.
Doncic, who always tends to find humor in any situation, posted pictures of him wearing ref attire to his Instagram story around the same time the NBA announced the fine.
Luka Doncic's Instagram story after the NBA announced his $2,000 fine for flopping.
Luka Doncic / Instagram
Over the last few years, Doncic has racked up several technical fouls due to barking at the officials, putting himself in jeopardy of being suspended for a game by the end of the year. This year, however, instead of being at or near the very top of the list, the 24-year-old star has shown more restraint, as he only has three technical fouls through 17 games, putting him in a tie for with 15 other players for fourth-most in the league.
Former Mavs big man Kristaps Porzingis leads the league with eight technical fouls as a member of the Boston Celtics this season, and Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is second on the list with five.
Perhaps Doncic's newfound tolerance with NBA officials has to do with the fact that the roster around him and Kyrie Irving now has more talent to overcome questionable fouls or no-calls. During Tuesday's game against Houston, there were several times where Doncic could've lost his cool while not getting a call after being hit by a super-aggressive Rockets' defense, or when rookie big man Dereck Lively II kept being called for fouls that multi-year veterans wouldnt have been, but he stayed the course, and the Mavs ended up being better for it.
Here's to hoping Doncic can continue to show patience with officials for the rest of this season and continue to find humor in situations where he gets caught - and fined - for trying to manipulate the whistles a little bit.
