Mavs star Luka Doncic has had a very close relationship with referees during games since the very first day he arrived in the NBA. After collecting five technical fouls in his rookie season, the Slovenian guard has ranked no lower than No. 7 in the league in that department.
Doncic was finally fined $35,000 by the NBA in March after making a gesture implying that one of the refs was paid in a 127-125 loss to the Warriors. A more heartwarming instance was his interaction with ref Ashley Moyer-Gleich during a Mavs’ win over the Clippers back in March 2021, with NBA Twitter suggesting he said ‘Fouling in love with you’ to make her laugh:
Luka Doncic con la tirada de caña nivel DIOS pic.twitter.com/fFUccN065G
— NBA en español 🏀 (@_NBAESP_) November 1, 2022
Here’s some pics of Doncic talking to refs through the years: