During the game played this past weekend between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic, which ended in a dramatic 105-104 victory in the final seconds, a key moment unfolded when Luka Doncic received a technical foul.
Because it was his 16th technical of the season, it triggered an automatic suspension under league rules. In response, the Lakers organization filed an appeal challenging the decision against their star player.
Following the complaint submitted by the Los Angeles franchise, the NBA issued its response on Sunday, March 22, 2026. The league ultimately decided not to penalize Doncic, rescinding the technical foul and nullifying the suspension.
As expected, reactions quickly followed this reversal. Skip Bayless was among the first to criticize the decision, expressing strong disagreement with the league’s handling of the situation involving the Lakers guard.
Luka’s tech rescinded? Ridiculous. He obviously started it with Goga, Goga responded in kind, then Luka escalated it all the way back up the floor. But the NBA obviously doesn’t want to lose its biggest ratings draw and gate attraction … who gets away with arguing every call.
Said Bayless.
With this ruling, Doncic did not reach the threshold of 16 technical fouls and therefore avoided the automatic suspension, making him eligible to play on Monday, March 23, against the Detroit Pistons.
The NBA also rescinded Goga Bitadze’s suspension
To clarify the situation further, the league also removed the suspension initially imposed on Orlando Magic player Goga Bitadze. The altercation between him and Doncic occurred in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
Both players exchanged heated words during the incident. Later, the Slovenian star claimed that the Magic player had made offensive remarks about his mother. Meanwhile, the Orlando center maintained that it was the European guard who initiated the confrontation.
Another voice that weighed in on the controversy was former NFL player Shannon Sharpe, who addressed the nature of the verbal exchanges, particularly those involving family members.
You gotta be careful talking about peoples girls and wives. I know Lukas not married and had some issues with his mom… We know what he’s going through with his co parent. I understand all of that. But at the end of the day you have to be careful how you talk to someone about their family.
Sharpe said.
As a result of the NBA’s decision to rescind both penalties, the players are now cleared to return to action.
