“Emotions Were Involved” – Years After Being Kicked Out of Game for Laughing, Tim Duncan Clears the Air on Joey Crawford Incident

Is laughing allowed on the basketball courts in the NBA? There have been numerous absurd ejections in the NBA. Needless to say, the league officials often face criticism for some of the questionable removals. One such surprising instance was the ejection of former NBA player Tim Duncan in 2007. He was ejected for laughing while sitting on the bench. Now, after almost 17 years since the incident, the 48-year-old has reflected on what happened.

Discussing the matter, Tim Duncan shared that, although emotions may have been involved, such instances are not entirely surprising in the NBA. “It was a heated game and things happened; things happen, emotions were involved,” The Big Fundamental said on the first episode of The Richard Jefferson & Larry Show. Furthermore, he expressed that he has no regrets regarding the incident. When Jefferson asked whether he enjoyed getting ejected for laughing, Duncan gave a hilarious response and said, “Now I do.” 

The incident occurred during the San Antonio Spurs game against the Dallas Mavericks. Former NBA official, Joey Crawford, wasn’t impressed with Tim Duncan laughing from the Spurs bench. And soon, he gave him a tech. The Official gave another tech when he saw Timmy laughing at his teammate getting called for a foul. And then, Crawford called one of the oddest ejections in NBA history.

Joey Crawford joined Tim Duncan in the list of oddities

Recalling the incident, Tim Duncan detailed that Crawford challenged him to a fight. The former Spurs legend said, “He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight? If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?”

Following this, Crawford was suspended indefinitely by former NBA commissioner David Stern for his comments. Stern stated that the Official’s behavior “failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management” expected from the NBA referees. However, Crawford didn’t regret his decision to eject Duncan. He stated that Timmy’s behavior seemed to mock the game and the official’s decision. 

Crawford further added that while his employer ] has issues with his comments, the player deserved the technicals. When the incident occurred, he was already boasting an impressive 30-year career of officiating in games. So, what is your take on the matter? Let us know in the comments below, and if you want to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.