Fan ejected from NBA game after hitting female ref with ball as melodramatic Lakers star throws tantrum
The fan was ejected from the game after Doncic confronted him over a simple chest pass during the third quarter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The softest league in all of sports was at it again Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
The NBA is back, baby! And with it, comes all the flops, fouls, tantrums and load management your heart desires. What a sport. It's just unrecognizable at this point.
Let's dive in.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During the third quarter of Wednesday's Kings-Lakers game, a fan sitting behind the basket got berated by LA star Luka Doncic for throwing the ball back to the ref ... too hard ... after it trickled out of bounds.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers runs the floor after making a three-point basket against the Sacramento Kings in the first half at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 4, 2026. (Getty Images)
That's right. "Too hard." Wait until you see this chest pass this fan launches at this female NBA ref. Better yet, wait till you see the absolute tantrum Luka throws after he sees it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Naturally, the fan was ejected.
Take a look, and you be the judge:
What are we doing here?
"He just tossed it really strong — the ball — toward the ref. I just asked him what the hell he's doing."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thoughts? First impressions?
To me, this is insane. You wanna talk about an overreaction. My goodness. What are we doing here? When I saw this clip going viral on social media last night, I expected fireworks. I figured this fan picked up the ball, crow-hopped, launched the ball with all of his force, and the ref would've went flying through the air.
I thought, at the very least, she would've fell to the ground because of how hard the pass was.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Guard Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after a foul call in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
That's how Luka reacted, so that's what I expected.
And then I watched it. And then I watched it again, assuming I missed something. Nope. That was it. Just a simple chest pass to the ref.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And it got this dude EJECTED from the game! Seriously. They threw him out of the arena for that. All because Doncic deemed the pass "really strong."
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during a 2026 NBA preseason game against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 5 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. (NBAE via Getty Images)
Give me a break. I play catch with my toddler in the back yard more aggressively than that, and she can't catch a cold.
"But Zach, he was defending the ref!"
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Defending her from what? The most textbook chest pass in the history of time? Grow up.
What a time to be alive.