The NBA announced this Saturday the suspension of Sacramento Kings point guard Dennis Schroder for three games after he was involved in an altercation with Luka Doncic following his team's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on December 28. The league determined that the player attempted to assault the Slovenian star after the game, an incident that escalated tensions beyond what had occurred during the game. The game, which ended with a 125-101 victory for the Lakers, had already been marked by several verbal exchanges between Schroder and Doncic. The two confronted each other on various occasions throughout the game, in a context of sporting frustration for Sacramento, who never managed to get into the game. During one of the timeouts, Doncic provoked Schroder with a direct remark: "You should have signed that contract," referring to the four-year, $82 million extension that the German point guard rejected when he was with the Lakers a few years ago. The comment did not go unnoticed and was one of the triggers for the hostile atmosphere that persisted throughout the rest of the game.

A confrontation that continued off the court

Although it seemed that tempers had cooled down after the final buzzer, the situation escalated again minutes later at the Crypto.com Arena. Schroder came out of the visiting locker room, saw Doncic near the tunnel, in front of the home team's bench, and the verbal confrontation resumed with greater intensity.

According to the NBA report, about 40 minutes after the end of the game, Schroder confronted Doncic again, telling him that he couldn't insult him on the court and then act as if nothing had happened off it. After reviewing the incident, the league concluded that the Kings' point guard attempted to assault the Lakers player, which is why the disciplinary action was imposed. Los Angeles center Deandre Ayton intervened to separate Schroder and prevent the altercation from escalating. Meanwhile, a visibly surprised Doncic tried to leave the area, while arena security personnel intervened to control the situation.

Finally, Schroder was escorted to the team bus, while Kings coach Doug Christie and several of his teammates sought explanations for what had happened. Doncic, meanwhile, left the scene with his father, Sasa, and went to his vehicle without further incident.