The relationship between Luka Doncic and NBA referees historically has been adversarial.
The Dallas Mavericks superstar is one of the best players in the game, but he has a propensity for giving it to the refs over calls (or no-calls) that he disagrees with.
Pretty much every player, especially stars, does that to some level. But it was getting to the point where Doncic had to tell himself he needed to change that area of his game.
He explained why to JJ Redick on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast this week.
“If you saw the last two games, I was really good,” Doncic said. "I had a little talk with myself. It was unacceptable the way I was acting. Maybe it was some of my personal issues but I had a talk with myself and I just said this can’t keep going. It’s a really bad look, I knew I was doing it but I kept doing it. It’s over now, I just had a talk with myself. No more, man.”
The reality is discourse with the referees is going to happen, especially when you have the ball in your hands as much as Doncic does. But if he gets himself to a place where he’s not getting technicals because of how he interacts with the officials, it’ll be better for him, the Mavs, and the refs.
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