By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fans in attendance reacting often annoy players, especially if it involves direct contact.
Following the loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on NBA Sundays, the Dallas Mavericks leader Luka Doncic was slapped on the back by a member of the audience. Already frustrated with his side dropping to 25-23 with a seventh loss in the last ten outings in the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season, he was extremely upset gazing at the fan multiple times until finally exiting the floor of American Airlines Center.
Lnk@ D0nc!c pic.twitter.com/q1nJ3ruOVD
— CyrusTheVirus (@CyrusTheVirusP) January 23, 2023
The Mavs currently rank fifth in the Western Conference standings, now 8.5 games away from the top seed. A separation of only one game from the Play-In zone and 1.5 games from the elimination zone of the table makes avoiding a fall in the standings the realistic target.
Doncic, 23, tallied 33.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.6 blocks per contest over 42 appearances this season. The Slovenian sensation is on track for multiple career highs but the goal certainly is advancing further in the Playoffs. Reaching last season’s Conference Finals is by far the best postseason run since he joined the team in 2018.
Coming in from Real Madrid as the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion, Doncic highlighted the extensive list of team and individual accolades as a teenager, becoming accustomed to capturing titles. Besides the club level, he was crowned EuroBasket champion with Slovenia in 2017, the only major championship in his country’s basketball history.
Photo Credit: Getty Images