There are many players around the league who know how to impact the floor with a more psychological take, as not everything in basketball is about strength and talent. With that thought in mind, during a recent on Run It Back, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox was asked whether Luka Doncic was the NBA’s biggest complainer.
The Kings star paused, gave his answer a thought, and then drew attention to a unique trait that he believes he shares with the Mavericks guard, one that goes beyond skill and has to do with behaviour. “Luka’s up there,” but then quickly added someone else to the list. “Draymond will clothesline you and look at the ref like, ‘What did I do?’ I think a lot of guys definitely have it.”
There’s no doubt that Doncic and Draymond Green are one of the league’s brightest and most controversial stars, as each are well known for combining their talents with a more mental approach.
Complaining in the #NBA is warranted in some instances… 👀
but not after a clothesline from Draymond Green or this foul by Luka Doncic on De’Aaron Fox 😂 pic.twitter.com/OPj6UWultV
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 3, 2024
Fox then made the discussion about the growing trend among his peers of debating with the referees about the calls they make on court. “Sometimes it’s warranted… Reffing can be awful at times. I never want to say they shouldn’t be getting it right, but there are definitely moments when they should,” he said.
The podcast hosts then asked De’Aaron to reflect on the almost-comical interaction he had with the Slovenian star two years ago when they discussed over a fall during a game between Sacramento and Dallas. Doncic was called for a foul on him, so he went immediately to complain to the officials.
This eventually led to an infamous moment in which Fox reacted with a look of disbelief that quickly went viral. “I was like, ‘Bro? You clearly fouled me,’”Fox recalled with a chuckle. “That’s why Malik (Monk) is sitting there and laughing too. It was like, ‘Bro, you smacked my whole arm. What are you complaining about?’” he recalled.
Other NBA stars believe that both Luka and Draymond know exactly what they are doing, as Kevin Durant recently praised his former teammate for his psychological impact on the court. “When Draymond is at his best, it’s a good balance between being ultra aggressive and being on edge and also just being a cerebral monster that he is,” KD shared.
DeMar DeRozan hopes his Sacramento teammates finally ‘learn’ from this rough start of the season: ’It’s frustrating losing’
Kings newcomer DeMar DeRozan is not only one of the most-talented playmakers in the league, but he’s also now an NBA veteran. This is why his contribution to his new club goes beyond the basketball court, and is also about having a strong mentality. As Sacramento are enduring a difficult stretch, he reflected on his team’s struggles.
“I mean, it’s always frustrating when you lose, but I think it’s all about how you build character from this and come out of it,” he explained. “Everybody has those rough patches throughout the season at some point, and we’re just there. We’ve dealt with injuries early on, you know, when we were trying to get a rhythm and everything. It’s just how we come out of this.”
Despite not having the best start of the competition so far this season, the ex-Bulls star is convinced that his teammates can learn from this rough moment and eventually emerge stronger than ever.
“It’s frustrating losing, but there’s a lot you can learn from it. There’s a lot of character within that can be built from this, that can give you the competitive nature to come out of this even better,” DeRozan said, as his team are currently sitting 12th in the West with a 10-12 record.
