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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
rSaFormer NBA star DeMarcus Cousins made a bold comment about the league favoring Luka Doncic and other players in how they enforce rules. Doncic was slated to get suspended for a technical foul on Saturday. This would have forced a one-game suspension to miss the Los Angeles Lakers game tonight against the Detroit Pistons. NBA officials rescinded the technical from Luka’s record and allowed him to play in the big game.
Cousins called out the league for not being consistent with their rules, via his talk show Run it Back:
“My issue isn’t with Luka. (The) issue is more so with how the league picks and chooses. Or you know, decide who they want to cater to and who they don’t. For me, it’s the inconsistency with the league. It’s catering to certain guys. If this is Draymond Green, it is not getting rescinded.
So that is more so my issue with this. If you’re willing to look at this as a case-by-case scenario, I think that should be across the board with every player. That’s my only issue. It’s a lot of inconsistencies in what you’re willing to accept and what you’re not.”
Cousins’ claim accused the NBA of not having consistency with their rules and picking some players they want to enforce over others. The former Sacramento Kings star believes that Luka benefited from the league rescinding it in a way they would not do for most other players.
Cousins Compared Luka’s Situation To Draymond Green
Cousins was smart to name Draymond Green as his reference point for the inconsistencies in the league’s enforcing of technical fouls or suspensions. Green has a history of crossing the line with physical cheap shots or loud trash talking to other players.
Many years of this have led to officials being more likely to call a flagrant foul or eject Green for a controversial decision. The NBA would likely not give Green the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this due to his track record.
Doncic has a reputation for talking too much during games, but he gets away with the technical foul getting removed here. The near one-game suspension comes from getting 16 technical fouls this season over an accumulation. Cousins is right that most other players would not get this treatment to remove the technical from their record.
Why League Rescinded Luka’s Technical Foul
The NBA didn’t provide an official explanation on why they rescinded Doncic’s technical foul, but the context of it likely played into their decision. Luka accused Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze of threatening his family via trash talk to set him off.
Referees gave them both technical fouls in the moment, but Doncic and JJ Redick loudly talked about getting it rescinded after the game. Bitadze claimed he never said that, and it is hard to know the truth since both talked trash in Serbian.
The NBA ruled in Luka’s favor, but other factors likely went into this that still played into favoritism. Tonight’s Lakers vs Pistons prime time game was a bigger one for the league, and the viewership would have suffered from missing Doncic. Cousins is not out of line for thinking the rules are too inconsistent.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
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