Sometimes, NBA players can find playing basketball in an international setting as though they’ve been airdropped in a different planet to hoop — especially when it comes to the officiating, as Zach LaVine and Team USA is finding out game after game in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
LaVine got his own story to tell from Team USA’s comprehensive 119-84 win over the Czech Republic Saturday morning. The Chicago Bulls guard scored 13 points on a sweet 5-of-7 shooting from the field while coming off the bench, but not a few people probably are going to remember this game for this hilarious play that perfectly demonstrates how FIBA refs just don’t honor NBA superstar badges.
that was hilarious. LaVine tried to lean into a defender to draw an and1 and the FIBA ref looked at him like the 50 Cent driving away GIF thinking “i cant believe the NBA calls that bullshit.”
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) July 31, 2021
The history of NBA players getting confounded with the difference of how things work in international basketball is a long one. Take for example the maximum limit of personal fouls. Team USA (NBA) players are used to having six, but Devin Booker fouled out in the Czech Republic game with five. There’s also the fact that in the Olympics, what NBA refs would normally call goaltending isn’t considered a violation.
Team USA can continue familiarizing itself with all these Olympics basketball rules then they can forget all about it once it’s all said and done — again.
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