Luka Doncic had a fan kicked out of their seat at the American Airlines Center during Wednesday night’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. While the game took place in his home gym, multiple reporters from inside the building tweeted that a fan in a Suns jersey said something that rubbed Doncic the wrong way.
Luka Doncic asked security to eject this Suns fan, who was sitting two rows behind midcourt press row. The comment the fan made that drew Doncic’s wrath: “Luka, you’re tired! Get your ass on the treadmill!” pic.twitter.com/chNYwiJBC0
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 25, 2024
“LUKA YOU TIRED, GET ON THE TREADMILL!”
Luka Doncic reaction to fan incoming.
Luka Doncic has since pointed out the fan, who is being talked to by arena staff.
Kyrie Irving walked over and was looking at the fan, who just left.#Suns 100 #Mavs 78 after 3. pic.twitter.com/6npgrJhj6J
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 25, 2024
Despite the fact that Dallas went on to lose 132-109, Doncic still spoke with the media after the game, and unsurprisingly, he was asked about the issues he had with the fan. While there was plenty of back-and-forth with one reporter in particular — ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who Doncic essentially accused of frequently trying to paint him in a negative light — Doncic explained that he found the fan’s words inappropriate throughout the course of the game, and that the ejection was him reaching a breaking point.
Luka Doncic responds after the Dallas loss to Phoenix.#MFFL | @dallasmavs on @BallySports
pic.twitter.com/uRZ7dJAdpW
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) January 25, 2024
While Doncic would not go into specifics of what the fan said that upset him, he claimed that “he was cursing me the whole first half, too.”
“I never would eject a fan,” Doncic went on to say. “They pay for tickets. But I had enough, a little bit of frustration.”
In addition to having a fan kicked out of the game, Doncic had 34 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal in 39 minutes of work.