Tristan Thompson Warns Raptors Head Coach to “Lose for Draft Lottery and Be Happy” After Heated Altercation

Tristan Thompson made an enemy of his fellow Canadians at the end of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 131-108 domination of the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The 33-year-old doesn’t play much anymore, but he took it upon himself to throw down a meaningless slam in the dying seconds of the blowout, which angered Raptors head coach Darko Rajkovic.

The second-year coach ripped Thompson’s unsportsmanlike decision. “I think what Tristan [Thompson] did there was no class and disrespectful… I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class,” Rajkovic said. The 45-year-old was firmly behind his team, who also didn’t take kindly to Thompson’s last-second dunk.

The 14-year veteran fired off a lengthy response to Rajkovic’s criticisms on X, making sure to direct his message at Toronto’s head coach.

“You wanna full court press with under a minute left in the game when you get cracked by 30 this will happen to you. Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy.” Thompson wrote, insinuating Rajkovic should be elated that his team is bottoming out for a top lottery pick. “Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of Bobby and Masai long term plan. Bless up stay warm in MY CITY.”

Thompson was born and raised in Toronto, but the 2016 NBA Champion certainly didn’t draw in any Raptors fans after his recent antics against the team. It has always been an unspoken rule to hold the ball near the end of a game that’s out of reach. With a 20-plus point lead with seconds remaining, the contest had long been over by the time Thompson swooped in for his second basket in three minutes of garbage time.

The veteran center may be facing heavy criticism now for his ill-advised decision-making, but Thompson is far from the first player who has received backlash for their late-game antics.

Several NBA stars have padded their stats after the result had been decided

Thompson isn’t near the talent that most of the following players are, but even the best stars in the NBA have shown their unsportsmanlike tendencies at times throughout their careers. In a 2003 game against the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant hit a shot as time expired in a blowout victory.

The game was already over, but Kobe attempted a long three-pointer that caused some tension. The Raptors were visibly frustrated, and this act was widely discussed in the media.

In a 2016 playoff game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets, Chris Paul made a final shot with less than a second remaining after the game was essentially decided. The Rockets also felt it was disrespectful to score with the game already decided, leading to some pushback from the team and a bit of drama on the court.

In the end, Thompson’s antics will be lost in the mix of countless other stars who pushed the limits of sportsmanship.