Luke Kennard may have made the winning shot against the Orlando Magic, but it was Luka Doncic‘s name that made the headlines. Having gotten into a verbal spat with Magic’s Georgian big man Goga Bitadze, the two exchanged a few words, but it was the latter’s words that crossed the line.

In the post-game presser, Doncic revealed that Bitadze muttered in Serbian that he would “F**k his family,” which did not sit right with him, and he shot back. The Slovenian received a ton of support from fans following the game, including LeBron James’ close friend and NFL Hall of Famer, Shannon Sharpe, who wasn’t happy with Bitadze’s act.

“You got to be careful talking about people, girls, and wives,” Sharpe said on the latest episode of the Nightcap show that he hosts along with Chad Johnson.

“I know Luka’s not married, and look, he’s had some issues with his mom…obviously, we know what he’s going through with his, with his, with his co‑parent and the two kids. So we get all of that. I understand all of that. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be careful how you talk to someone about their family because everybody don’t play the same. What is a joke to you is death to someone else,” the former Denver Broncos man reiterated.

The incident occurred midway through the second half as Doncic and the Magic center started jawing while Luka was at the free‑throw line. Both were hit with technicals. It was Doncic’s 16th of the season, which will see him miss Monday’s crunch matchup against Eastern Conference leaders Detroit Pistons.

But it soured the after-effect of the win last night for the home supporters who showed up in huge numbers to support their players.

Sharpe doubles down on Bitadze criticism, shielding Luka Doncic

Following the loss, Goga Bitadze revealed that he did not make any such comments. He added that he has “all the respect for Luka Doncic,” that where he’s from family is “really sacred,” and that he “would never directly say that.”

But regardless of his claims, Sharpe believes such comments are not to be taken lightly.

“Everybody talking about it’s just jokes. You’re not a comedian. Somebody will slap fire from you. Everybody don’t play like you play. And people need to understand that,” Sharpe added, comparing these verbal spats to similar incidents in tennis games.

“It’s like them tennis players. They can say things, and the umpire have no idea what they’re saying. Cause they’re speaking in Serbian or they’re speaking in Ukrainian or they’re speaking in Russian or they’re speaking whatever. You don’t know what they’re saying. And so unless you understand, they’re just cussing you out”, the 2x Super Bowl winner concluded.

Lakers HC Redick confirmed the Lakers are filing an appeal, as he argued the refs missed Bitadze’s alleged family threat. Precedent shows a 60–70% success rate for appeals with video/lingual evidence (e.g., Draymond Green 2024 tech rescinded).

With the third seed firmly in their grasp, the LA faithful will be hoping to get their star man back and hopefully extend their winning run to 10 games. If not, this will serve as another reminder that Doncic needs to control his temperament if he wants a shot at MVP honors.