A Wolves fan criticized him for complaining too much to the referees. A little later, while Luka Doncic and the Mavericks taught the Wolves a lesson in Game 5, the Slovenian couldn't help but respond…
“Who's crying now, asshole?” » launched the Dallas player after causing another foul in the third quarter, while Snoop Dogg could not believe his ears.
“Dumbo ears” to hear the fan who will motivate him
So quiet, almost shy, as soon as he leaves the courts, Luka Doncic transforms when he enters the field. And the transformation goes even further as soon as he has a mental target. He often rails against the referees, but he never seems as strong as when he wants to silence a fan who has caught his attention.
“He is very observant” explains his coach, Jason Kidd. “He has Dumbo’s ears, so he hears everything. He hears the guy in the first row and the guy in the twentieth row. He will always find that person and that will motivate him. I saw the same thing with Gary Payton. GP always found the right fan to motivate him, and once he was motivated, he was off and running. The coaches can then sit back, because the fan has done his part.”
As evidenced by his 78 technical fouls since his arrival in the NBA (only Draymond Green, with 88, has taken more over the period), six years ago now, Luka Doncic also continually speaks to referees, and it is rarely to make them declarations of love.
But the leader of the Mavericks is rarely sent off (only four times in the NBA) and it's always when the match is already lost. Like his disagreements with the fans, the technical fouls he receives obviously serve to play with a mental target in mind, and Jason Kidd believes that it makes him even stronger.
“Dumbo ears” to hear the fan who will motivate him
“This type of mistake transforms him” the coach assured recently. “He uses it to motivate himself and evolve to an even higher level… When you look at what Luka does, the only criticism that everyone brings up is that he complains and talks to the referees. But all the great players talk to the referees. Some did it better than others. Some do it in plain sight. But when we look at his game, I don't see what we can blame him for. He can play low post. He can pass. He has this inner fire that can sometimes be misunderstood. You have to understand that he wants to win. He is not afraid of anyone and that can scare people sometimes. »
And like any fire, internal or not, that of the hypercompetitor Luka Doncic needs to be stoked.
“It’s much nicer to win away” he was having fun again last night. “You know there are going to be a lot of people in the room and, when you score, it suddenly becomes quieter. »
For Jason Kidd and the Mavericks, we must therefore find the right red rag to wave to see the bull Luka Doncic shake up everything in the arena. And at worst, the coach always has one up his sleeve…
“If you really want to piss him off, you talk to him about Barcelona. If you know the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, you know how to provoke it. So I joked with him today and said, 'Man, I think I'm going to take the Barcelona job. Did you see how they fired the coach (Xavi)? »
