Raptors' Darko Rajaković Fined $25K For Criticizing Referees After Loss to Lakers

A fine was surely coming for Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković, and the NBA levied it Thursday.

The NBA announced it fined Rajaković $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officials following his team's 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

ESPN transcribed some of his quotes in which he was upset about the disparity in the calls in the fourth quarter:

"It's outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S. This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.

"How [is it] possible that Scottie Barnes, who is All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game? How is that possible? How are you going to explain that to me?"

Los Angeles shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter alone and ended up with a 36-13 advantage for the game. Anthony Davis alone shot 11 free throws in the fourth and 14 for the game, which was more than the entire Toronto team.

"They had to win tonight? If that's the case, just let us know, so we don't show up for the game," Rajaković continued. "Just give them a win. But that was not fair tonight. And this is not happening first time for us. Scottie Barnes is going to be [an] All-Star. He's going to be the face of this league, and what's happening over here during whole season ... it's complete crap."

It wasn't just the free-throw disparity that stood out, as RJ Barrett was called for an offensive foul that negated what would have been a game-tying three-pointer from Barnes in the final 30 seconds.

Frustration is clearly building in Toronto.

The team is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 15-23 and 1.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the 10th seed and final spot in the play-in tournament. This is Rajaković's first season at the helm, and things are not going nearly as well as they did when predecessor Nick Nurse won a championship in his first season with the team in 2018-19.

The Raptors are a middling 18th in the league in free-throw attempts per game during the overall struggles.

It remains to be seen whether they will get to the line more following their head coach's rant, but he would probably be more accepting of the fine if that turns out to be the case.