Andre Agassi had no answers for Boris Becker at first, losing their first three matchups. No matter what he tried, Becker’s serve was overwhelming—until Agassi spotted something that changed everything. During a 2017 interview with The Players’ Tribune’s Unscriptd, Agassi shared how he cracked the code. After watching film, he realized Becker had a tell—his tongue movements gave away where he was serving. He cracked how to return his serve, but his biggest problem? Not letting Boris know. Well, Agassi never let Becker know until he retired. And maybe Luka Doncic should’ve also followed the same path.

Doncic came up with a clever trick to dodge technical fouls. Speaking with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon in 2023, he admitted to letting some words slip but had a strategy. “Everything comes out a little bit,” he said, adding that he also knew curse words in multiple languages. It was on Wednesday, the Lakers and Pelicans put on a show at Crypto.com Arena, but Doncic’s frustration stole some of the spotlight. After a questionable foul call, he didn’t hold back, letting the refs have it in Serbian. Cameras caught the moment, and later, a fan translated his words “Mamu ti j*em,”—turns out he dropped a pretty explicit insult.

He got away with that time, but not on Thursday. The Lakers were playing the Knicks, and during one of the plays, the Slovenian clashed with Karl-Anthony Towns. There was no call and we all know Luka likes to talk to the refs. After getting hit with a technical for cursing in Serbian, Doncic turned to the ref in disbelief. “What did I say? What’d I say?” he pleaded, trying to play innocent.

The 5x All-Star has never been one to hide his emotions on the court. In just 10 games with the Lakers, he’s already racked up three technical fouls, bringing his season total to eight. Except for his first two seasons, he had at least 13 techs every other season. His fiery reactions have been a trademark of his game, and L.A. fans are quickly seeing that firsthand.

While his passion sometimes gets him in trouble, there’s no denying his impact on the court—especially alongside LeBron James.

LeBron James concedes to Luka Doncic, admits it’s his team

When the Lakers traded for Luka, plenty of people doubted how he and LeBron James would fit together. Both are used to running the offense, and the idea of them sharing playmaking duties raised concerns. But the 21x All-Star shut down that debate from the start—this is Doncic’s show.

“In order for us to be the team, ultimately, we need to be, the ball needs to be in Luka’s hands,” the 4x MVP said after the Lakers’ dominant win over the Pelicans. “I’m very comfortable playing off the ball—finding my spots, running the floor, getting outlet passes from Luka.”

So far, the results have been scary for opposing defenses. LeBron thrives in this role, knowing Doncic’s presence forces defenders to focus elsewhere.

“Anytime you get eyes off you, it unlocks a lot,” James explained. “He attracts so many defenders when he’s driving… If I’m getting passes with guys closing out late, I can now make reads in four-on-three situations.”

He pointed to a play against the Clippers as proof of how their chemistry is developing. “They blitzed Luka at the top, he swung it to me in the slot. I made the reads and found Gabe [Vincent] for a wide-open three. We had the numbers.”

Having two of the smartest players in the league makes the Lakers a nightmare to guard. They’re still figuring things out, but the wins keep piling up—and the league has taken notice.