Lakers fans were all up in arms after Luka Doncic was ejected in the second leg of the Lakers’ back-to-back against the OKC Thunder. Once again, shoddy officiating had robbed us of an entertaining game. However, we are in the postseason now, and things are different. But a recent announcement from the league means that Luka Doncic may come away with the last laugh. And it also spares him some grief during his postseason games.

You see, the playoffs are the culmination of everything that happened in the regular season. With the stakes higher, the NBA chooses only its most elite referees. And JT Orr seems to have fallen out of favor with the league following his showing during the Thunder-Lakers game.

The NBA recently revealed the 36 officials who will work the first round and the four alternates in the Playoffs. Guess who didn’t make the cut? It was none other than JT Orr, the man who ejected Doncic. And Lakers fans rejoiced, happy for Luka getting one over the referee who ejected him.

Now, why did Adam Silver and the league do this? Well, there could be a number of reasons. Many speculated that the NBA may be upset with Orr after having to rescind the second technical on Luka Doncic after the OKC game. Or it could be that the league simply doesn’t think Orr meets their criteria for elite referees anymore. But what could have changed so quickly? After all, he was one of the 36 selected last year!

All in all, this saga seems to be over with Luka being the victor. And as we said earlier, it’s one problem taken care of for Luka. After all, one of his teammates did speculate that JT Orr’s problem with Doncic may have been personal.

One less thing to worry about for Luka Doncic in the 2025 NBA Playoffs?

During the Thunder-Lakers game, it wasn’t just Luka who was on the receiving end of JT Orr’s questionable calls. Jarred Vanderbilt also received a technical for no apparent reason. After the game, he revealed that he thought Orr had a personal issue against Doncic. And if that’s truly the case…Well, the fans who claim that Luka is treated differently by the NBA refs will have a field day.

Vanderbilt spoke about how Luka tried to explain to the ref how Vando had been fouled. But all it led to was Luka’s first technical in the Thunder game. “Ref was just like ‘I’m gonna talk to anybody but you, Luka.’ It seems a little personal at that point. But you know, he was just advocating for me, saying I got fouled. And then ref, he said he wasn’t trying to talk to anybody on the team but Luka. So I don’t know what that was about, but yeah,” Vando said after the game.

If what Jarred is implying is even remotely true, it had the potential to lead to a lot of problems and anxiety for Luka during the Playoffs. After all, getting ejected during a regular-season game is one thing. But a similar call during the postseason could be the difference between Luka and his team winning the title or crashing out after a close series.

Perhaps JT Orr being omitted was a good thing. At least Luka probably feels that way. However, Tony Brothers, the crew chief who defended Orr, is on the officials list, though. But you win some, you lose some, huh? Nevertheless, it can’t be denied that this is simply a case of Orr’s own actions coming back to haunt him. Or karma, as some would say.

While Orr won’t be officiating the first round, perhaps he can finally knock a few National Parks off his bucket list — or enjoy a rewatch of his favorite movie, White Men Can’t Jump, as noted in his NBRA profile.