FIBA World Cup 2023: Slovenia was eliminated because of Luka Doncic's "argument" habit?

The fact that Luka Doncić was fouled out of Slovenia's loss to Canada at the FIBA ​​World Cup is probably not new to Dallas Mavericks fans. They are used to controversies between young stars and black-shirted kings.

According to ESPN's Tim McMahon, Luka Doncic's argumentative habits have made both of the Mavs' most recent coaches uncomfortable.

"This is a bad habit that Jason Kidd has publicly pointed out many times," the ESPN reporter shared. "Rick Carlisle is disappointed about that too... Luka is too concerned with the umpires, he's not in the 5v5 game. The game becomes Doncic vs 3 umpires"

Doncic was sent off with only about 6 and a half minutes remaining in the match against Canada. He had 26 points in Slovenia's 11-point defeat in the FIBA ​​World Cup 2023 quarterfinals.

"Playing for the national team always brings a lot of emotions. Sometimes I can't control myself and that causes me problems," the 24-year-old explained.

"But you know, the referees have explained that there will be no fouls when the opponent plays tough with us. I think this is unfair."

"I know I complained a lot, but I don't think it's wrong. Every opponent played tough with me, but the referee said it wasn't fair."

The Slovenian star has been known to complain to the referee for quite some time. At the end of the 2020/21 season, he himself admitted that he "complains too much and needs to solve that problem".

However, not much has improved. Luka Doncic had 17 technical fouls last season, tied for third in the NBA with Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

Doncic's lack of maturity could continue to hinder the Mavs, a team that is trying to regain itself after achieving a 38-44 record last season and missing the Playoffs round.