Dallas Mavericks fans are well aware of Luka Doncic's penchant for getting penalized by referees. The Slovenian wunderkind has been amongst the league leaders in technical fouls over the last three seasons and has been suspended because of it in the past. It's one of the few items on his shortlist of weaknesses.
But one call against him from the Mavs' recent win over the Oklahoma City Thunder was clearly undeserved. Doncic was seen fuming after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander slithered in for an and-1 opportunity, which prompted referee JB DeRosa to whistle him for a tech – his sixth in the young season.
The problem? He was shouting at Mavs center Dwight Powell and not expressing resentment to the foul drawn by SGA. Check out the play for yourself:
Luka Doncic got a technical foul for yelling at his teammate, Dwight Powell. He was not happy 😅pic.twitter.com/I6Pb24ZSX2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 13, 2022
Given that the NBA suspends any player who tallies 16 technicals, Luka Doncic getting called for his sixth not even a third of the way through the season puts him on pace to face suspension toward the end of the year.
However, according to ESPN insider Tim MacMahon, the NBA has decided to rescind the technical against Doncic after being reviewed postgame.
The NBA rescinded Luka Doncic’s technical foul from last night. He officially has five this season. A one-game suspension is triggered by 16.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 14, 2022
While five still puts the Mavs star in danger, every buffer foul counts in what's been a relatively infuriating season for Doncic and Mavs fans alike. It's a guarantee that Luka Doncic will pick up more technicals throughout the season. All fans have to hope for is that he doesn't get 11 more. Getting one wiped off the books is a good start.