Over the weekend, it was announced that Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder would be suspended for three games for an off-court altercation following the Dec. 28 game against the Los Angeles Lakers. It would later be reported that the confrontation was between Schroder and Lakers superstar Luka Doncic.
During the game, the two exchanged words in which it looked as if Doncic challenged Schroder to swing at him and the Kings guard said he would see him in the back. Luka brushed it off, but around 40 minutes after the game ended, it was reported that Schroder did actually confront the Lakers in the hallways of the Crypto.com Arena and attempted to strike him, which is ultimately what led to the suspension.
Schroder has been quiet since news of the suspension came down, but he did take to Instagram and responded to a post about his suspension in which he seems to indicate that he didn’t just “attempt” to strike the Lakers star, via Legion Hoops on X:
Dennis Schroder on IG
pic.twitter.com/FFlR20dznM
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 11, 2026
Schroder may not have outright said that he hit Doncic, but that caption with the emojis after are very strongly implying that he did more than just try and strike the Lakers star. Perhaps he did succeed in striking Luka, though there was never any obvious damage shown on Doncic’s face in the games he has played in since that incident occurred.
Doncic is well known as one of the biggest trash talkers in the NBA today and has never been one to shy away from a challenge on the court. Likewise, Schroder has long been someone known to get under other player’s skin so those two having heated verbal exchanges is no surprise. Luka reportedly made a comment about Schroder allegedly choosing not to sign an extension with the Lakers during his first stint with the team back in 2021 and the two also faced off during last summer’s EuroBasket tournament in which Schroder and Germany ended the run of Doncic and Slovenia.
Because of the suspension, Schroder won’t be in the building when the Kings host the Lakers on Monday, but the final meeting between these two teams on March 1 has suddenly become a date that many will look forward to in case the issues between the two international stars boil over.
JJ Redick discusses how Lakers will manage difficult upcoming schedule
Doncic doesn’t have time to focus on Schroder as the Lakers have an extremely difficult stretch coming up with five games in seven days, followed by an eight-game road trip. And head coach JJ Redick recently discussed how the Lakers must manage this tough upcoming slate.
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