New Luka Doncic-Dennis Schroder Rumors Reveal Details That Led to Confrontation
An update on the confrontation between Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić and Sacramento Kings point guard Dennis Schröder following the Lakers' 125-101 win over the Kings on Dec. 28 was provided by ESPN's Shams Charania.
"Dennis Schröder essentially camped out and waited for Luka Dončić in the back hallways of Crypto.com Arena," Charania reported Tuesday on NBA Today. "And when he saw him and had somewhat of an alone moment, he confronted him and he attempted to swing on him, strike him, with his hand. The league concluded that it was an attempt to, that he didn't actually strike Luka Dončić in the face, in the upper body area."
"So, why did Dennis Schröder go about this path? My understanding is Luka Dončić has been calling him the 'B' word for the last few games, even going back to the offseason when they played each other in Olympic play," he added. "And so Dennis Schröder's point is listen, if you're going to call me the 'B' word on the court, you have to expect that I'm not just going to take that lightly off the court."
On Saturday, the NBA issued Schröder a three-game suspension for "confronting and attempting to strike another player."
ESPN's Anthony Slater reported Dončić and Schröder exchanged trash talk throughout the Dec. 28 matchup, which led to the altercation after the game.
"Things appeared to cool off as the game ended," Slater wrote. "But Schröder left the visitors locker room at Crypto.com Arena, spotted Dončić and tempers flared again inside the tunnel across from the home bench. Forty minutes after the buzzer, Schröder went after Dončić, telling Dončić that he can't call him a 'b----' on the court and pretend everything is fine off the court."
Dončić finished with 34 points and seven assists while shooting 11-of-23 from the field in the victory. Schröder scored 11 points and dished out seven assists off the bench.
His suspension extended to Monday's clash between the Lakers and Kings.
Although Dončić scored a game-high 42 points, Sacramento ultimately emerged with a 124-112 win.
The two foes didn't face off in the 2024 Paris Olympics after Dončić and Slovenia failed to qualify, but their respective international teams clashed in the 2025 EuroBasket quarterfinals.
Schröder and Germany eliminated Slovenia from the tournament following a 99-91 win, coming back from a 13-point deficit to emerge victorious.
