Mavericks Player’s Decision to Not Change Shirt at Referee’s Request Causes Controversy

Dallas‘s forward wore the same color as the Warriors for two straight games on the bench.

The Mavericks’ bench has been subject to NBA fines this postseason for violating rules associated with bench decorum.

Following Game 2 of their Western Conference finals series with the Warriors, Dallas was fined $100,000 for the behavior of its bench. One of the reasons why Dallas was fined was for “distracting opponents in an unsportsmanlike manner during game action.”

The reasoning for this part of the fine came into play during Game 2, when Warriors guard Steph Curry threw the ball to Mavericks guard Theo Pinson, who was wearing a white sweater on the bench with his arm raised. The Warriors were wearing white jerseys that night, and in the heat of the action, it is clear why Curry made the mistake thinking that Pinson was one of his teammates as he threw the ball out of play. 

Pinson has been out since February after fracturing his pinkie finger.

As the NBA tried to avoid a similar situation in Game 3, a referee asked Pinson during pregame warmups to change out of a white T-shirt he was wearing.

Ref awkwardly asks Theo Pinson to change his shirt…Pinson doesn’t do it lol pic.twitter.com/UdOzOalPar

— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 23, 2022

“Can you change your color shirt?” the official asked Pinson.

Pinson agreed when speaking with the official, but the shirt was never changed. He sported the white T-shirt for the entire game.

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Golden State ended up defeating Dallas to take a commanding 3–0 series lead. There is no word on whether the Mavericks will face further discipline for being in violation of bench decorum rules once again.

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