NBA sends stern warning to Lakers’ Luka Doncic after 16th technical foul originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-99 last Friday, improving to 48-26 on the year.
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Hopefully, the story of the game had less to do with the final score and more to do with Luka Doncic’s costly in-game decision. Doncic received his 16th technical of the year during the contest, forcing him to miss the franchise’s Monday night contest against the Washington Wizards.
Shortly after Doncic’s suspension was announced, the NBA sent a stern warning to the former Dallas Mavericks superstar.
“Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2025-26 season,” the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, James Jones, stated Saturday.
“Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season.”
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“For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.”
Essentially, if Doncic doesn’t play his cards right moving forward, he could find himself facing another suspension or two at an inopportune time.
It goes without saying that the Lakers can’t afford to compete without their standout point guard in the postseason, as his elite playmaking, shot-creating, and late-game takeover ability have played an integral role in Los Angeles’ stellar performance in March (13-2 thus far).
Doncic, who’s averaging 33.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game this season, must play high-IQ basketball moving forward to avoid further trouble.
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