“They Called Him Whiner and a Cry-Baby”: Lou Williams Hopes Luka Doncic’s Clashes With the Referees Will Subside

Luka Doncic is a superstar in many ways, but his game does have one apparent drawback. The five-time All-Star is constantly butting heads with officials, sometimes to the detriment of his team.

Doncic has earned himself a bad rep over the years for complaining too much during games. Superstars pleading for calls is nothing new, but Luka’s complaints are oftentimes too frequent and overly dramatic.

Lou Williams believes Doncic needs to buckle down and crush that narrative. Williams stressed how much he’s always hated this part of Doncic’s career, especially considering how naturally talented Luka is.

Williams believes Doncic is too concerned with the refs, and it puts a stain on what otherwise has been a Hall of Fame-worthy career thus far.

“They called [Doncic] a ‘whiner’ and a ‘cry-baby’,” Williams added. “I won’t characterize him as any of those things, but he puts himself in that position.” 

The former Sixth Man of the Year expressed hope that as time passes and Luka continues to mature, his negative energy toward referees will subside.

Chandler Parsons pointed out that Doncic’s bad habit could cause problems come playoff time. As someone who has spent time with the league’s refs off the court, Parsons knows officials are just normal people who like some players—and dislike others.

“[Luka] does have to find a way to reel it in a little bit with the refs because you don’t want to get that reputation to where you’re definitely not gonna get calls come playoff time,” the former forward shared.

Luka Doncic has continued to call out officials in LA

Doncic not only disputes the league’s referees during play, but he also calls them out postgame. Following the Lakers’ disappointing loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Luka was asked about his dissatisfaction about calls that didn’t go his way.

“I’m not gonna say anything… but I think everybody saw the game, so they know what happened,” Doncic said regarding Monday night’s officiating performance.

Doncic has instigated a reaction from officials on several occasions, including one memorable moment where he rubbed his fingers together, insinuating he knew a fine would be coming after complaining to officials in a playoff matchup against Golden State.

Luka continues to set the NBA on fire with his consistently excellent play, but if he hopes to win it all with Los Angeles, he’ll have to make an effort to build relationships with officials rather than tear them down.