The Los Angeles Lakers organized a special celebration to honor ‘The Godfather’ Pat Riley with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. A statue that represents years of hard work. With players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar having earned similar recognition, LeBron James is not far down that future list. However, when it comes to the team’s newest face, Luka Doncic, there might be a different statue for him, according to Max Kellerman.

The Slovenian star was at the center of discussions on today’s segment of Game Over, where co-host Kellerman went on a passionate rant about Doncic, who was once again in the limelight for his constant pandering to referees during the game.

“Luka Doncic’s statue, if he ever gets one, outside of Crypto, now, is going to be? It’s going to be like this,” Kellerman said while shrugging his shoulders with his arms out. “Every single trip down the floor, you’re complaining to the refs? Luka. Every trip down the floor? Even when he hits the shot? No, you’re not going to get the and-1. It can’t be that the refs blow every call on Luka Doncic.”

Rich Paul, who represents Doncic’s teammate LeBron James, attempted to de-escalate the conversation (rather monologue) without directly criticizing the Lakers guard. They then pivoted to Jaylen Brown and how Kellerman thought that if he were building a team today, he’d pick the Celtics star over Doncic.

The 26-year-old was seen griping at referees as the Lakers succumbed to the surging Boston Celtics 111-89 on Sunday night. He was constantly arguing no-calls, including drives and physical play, amid the Lakers’ frustration in a blowout where Boston built a 21-point lead at halftime.

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The home team was hit with three technicals over the course of the game – one each on former Celtics star Marcus Smart, Austin Reaves, and coach JJ Redick for contesting what he thought was a goaltending violation (spoiler alert, it wasn’t). Doncic ended the game with 25 points, five rebounds, and three assists as the Lakers completely tanked in the last 15 minutes.

Is the Luka Doncic Criticism Justified? A Look at Past Incidents

Luka Doncic is having a stellar season with the Lakers, averaging 32.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.5 assists, putting him on the outskirts of MVP conversations alongside Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, if he wants a solid shot at challenging for that elusive accolade, he will have to work on his on-court attitude as well.

Since joining the league in 2018, Doncic has built an infamous reputation for pestering officials over no-calls and staring down refs during mid-game transitions. This was evident from the moment he was 16, playing in European developmental leagues. Years later, the trend continued, and Doncic was slapped with a $35K fine for a money gesture at an official in the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2023.

The Slovenian also paid a $15k fine for hurling a basketball towards a league official during a 2020 playoff game vs the Los Angeles Clippers, not to mention the $10k sanction leveled on him for kicking a ball into the stands in a regular-season matchup against the Indiana Pacers in 2019.

Doncic acknowledged that he needed to work on this aspect of his game in an earlier 2022 interview with JJ Redick, who wasn’t his coach at the time.

“Well, I had a little talk with myself, real talk, it was unacceptable no more, the way I was acting, maybe some of my personal issues or everything, but I had a talk with myself, and I just said, this can’t keep going,” Doncic said. “It’s a really bad look. I knew I was doing this, but I kept doing it. So, it’s over.”

Doncic, who turns 27 this weekend, definitely needs to change the tune around his ‘spoiled brat’ narrative if he wants to earn that statue in LA. But as they say, some things never change.