Luke Walton Got T’d Up for Telling Luka Doncic to Give the Ref His Autograph
“Go give the ref your autograph”
Luka Doncic lit up the Kings (33 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists) in a blowout win in Dallas on Wednesday night, but Sacramento coach Luke Walton thinks the budding superstar had a little help from the officials.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Walton was assessed a technical foul after saying something to Doncic. The exchange was captured on the game broadcast, and you can read Walton’s lips clear as day.
Doncic responded by telling Walton, “Don’t do that,” according to the Sacramento Bee.
“He said something that I didn’t like about me,” Doncic said in an on-court interview with Fox Sports Southwest.
Walton, meanwhile, straight-up lied when asked about the exchange after the game.
“I have all the respect in the world for Luka,” Walton said. “He got what he wanted tonight, wherever he wanted. I wasn’t saying anything to him. I don’t know if he thought I said something to him. He had a great game, he’s a great player and he led his team to victory. You’ve got to give him credit.
“I wouldn’t have said anything [to him]. What can you say? Between him and Porzingis, they handled that game. Again, nothing but praise for him as a player, and he had a great game tonight.”
But the transcription doesn’t do it justice. Watch the video of his exchange with reporters and you can see how Walton stumbles over his words and chuckles nervously while trying to claim he didn’t do what everyone saw him do.
No matter what Walton says, Doncic has another reason to resent the Kings. He has said he thought for sure he was heading to Sacramento before he was passed over in the 2018 draft in favor of Marvin Bagley, reportedly because Kings exec Vlade Divac has beef with Luka’s father.
Luka hasn’t really shown himself to be a vengeful guy, but you might as well circle that March 17 Mavs-Kings game on your calendar anyway.
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