Game 3 of the NBA Finals saw Boston emerging victorious against Dallas again. While the Mavs attempted to be at the same pace as their rival, the sixth foul call made on Luka Doncic hindered things. With 4 minutes remaining, the Slovenian had a clash with Jaylen Brown that sent JB crashing onto the floor. And then Doncic had no choice but to head to the bench. His absence caused a major issue, which the Celtics took advantage of and won by a score of 106-99.

During the post-game presser, the Mavs‘ head coach Jason Kidd was asked if the same should have been challenged. The 51-year-old looked back at how the night transpired and stated all the foul calls made against his player should have been challenged. Then, when a journalist stated that the Celtics star may have “hooked” Doncic, the coach replied, “Looks can be deceiving.”

Through his remarks, Jason Kidd went against the official version of the events as highlighted by the on-court referees. As a result, he may be liable to face a penalty that could force him to cough up as much as $40,000 in fines. After all, this was the same amount that Anthony Edwards had to pay after he criticized the referees back in January. His team had won the matchup against OKC, but the 22-year-old wasn’t impressed by the on-court calls, going as far as to call the referees’ decisions “terrible”.

Players like Paul George, Dillon Brooks, and Trae Young have also received fines in the $25k-$35k range for making their displeasure towards the officials public. Even if Kidd ends up receiving a punishment, it could also be as severe as the one imposed upon Sac Kings coach Mike Brown, who received a $50,000 penalty for “aggressively pursuing a game official during live play, and for publicly criticizing the officiating.”

Luka Doncic risks similar punishment as Jason Kidd after making a controversial gesture

While Jason Kidd was not happy with how things turned out for Luka Doncic, the player in question himself wasn’t too pleased about the situation. It was just last year when Doncic had gotten himself in trouble for “directing an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture towards a game professional”. This time, the situation seems to have repeated itself.

After the sixth foul call was called upon Luka Donic during the recently concluded Game 4, the 5x NBA All-Star could be seen visibly upset and making a gesture towards referee Kevin Scott. While the action was barely captured by the on-court camera, ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps later reported that Doncic made the derogatory ‘money sign’ towards the official.

While he has made plenty use of the ‘money gesture’ during the FIBA World Cup games, the recent incident marked the second time in an NBA game that Luka Doncic has engaged in such an action. The first instance occurred during a matchup against the Golden State Warriors back in March 2023. As highlighted by then majority owner Mark Cuban, the referees had called for the Mavericks to claim the ball during the third quarter. The same was confirmed by the announcer as well. However, without the Mavs roster knowing, the referees ended up reversing their decision in the timeout. As a result, the Warriors ended up possessing the advantage. This, and the fact that several no-calls were made on his drives to the basket did not please the Slovenian player. During the final 1.7 seconds, as the Warriors were leading 127-125, Donic made the infamous gesture and got into trouble.

The last time that Luka Doncic made such a gesture he was fined up to $35,000. For now, it remains to be seen whether he and Jason Kidd will be held liable for their action.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.