In a blockbuster showing, Canada beat Slovenia in the quarter-finals of the FIBA 2023 World Cup. The final score stood at 100-89, in favor of the Canadian team. Slovenia who have risen to the top of international basketball, thanks to their country’s prodigious talent Luka Doncic, were underdogs coming into the contest against Canada. Surprisingly though, Luka was ejected from the game after he collected his second technical foul. The second technical came after Luka protested a no-call from the referees by making a ‘money gesture’ toward the FIBA tribune.
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The Mavericks superstar has himself been in the news recently for some ‘money-related’ matters. ESPN insider Bobby Marks broke the news on the “The Lowe Post” podcast that, Luka would be one of the first players who would be eligible to make $80,000,000 after his contract expires in the 2025-26 season. Shaquille O’Neal, someone who has been very critical of new-generation players making large sums of money, was surprisingly happy for Luka when the news broke. The Lakers big man even went as far as to share the news on his IG story.
Luka Doncic ejected from quarter-finals after making ‘money gesture’ at FIBA Tribune
The FIBA World Cup’s quarter-final saw an epic match-up between Canada and Slovenia. From the jump, Luka was being hounded by Canada’s defense. Luka appeared visibly frustrated with the referees ‘holding back’ on their whistles. After picking up his first technical in the first half, Luka looked rather steady till midway through the fourth quarter. After a no-call from the referees, Luka protested by making ‘money gestures’ at the FIBA Tribune. Hinting at the fact that the referees had been paid off.
The 24-year-old exited the game with a stat line of 26 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. But this wasn’t the first time that Luka has made the ‘money gesture’ after being frustrated at the ‘whistle’ situation in a game. The Dallas forward has been ejected on two other separate occasions for the very same behavior.
Luka has pulled the ‘money gesture’ two times before as well
Luka has openly admitted that he often gets ‘too emotional’ while playing. But this wasn’t the first time that the Slovenian was ejected for making the ‘money gesture’ in a game. The first time it happened was against the Warriors during a close game, where the refs seemingly held their whistle with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. Doncic was fined a hefty $35,000 for his antics.
The second instance occurred when the Mavs took on the Suns in the 2021-22 Western Conference Semi-finals. Luka during game 3 would make the ‘money gesture’ once again as he exited the floor. The fans too seemed to agree with Luka, as fans were seen following in Luka’s lead as the ‘money gesture’ was being thrown at the refs from the crowd as well.
With Luka crashing out of the FIBA World Cup in the quarter, it would be interesting to see how this early exit would motivate the young star as the NBA season is scheduled to tip-off on October 24th. With both teams USA and Canada looking sharp, it would be interesting to see which team will pose the biggest threat to the two title favorites.
