Lakers’ $48,000,000 forward weighs in on JT Orr's alleged personal vendetta against Luka Doncic

Following the LA Lakers' 136-120 road loss to the OKC Thunder on Tuesday, Jarred Vanderbilt commented on one of the referees, JT Orr, for an alleged personal vendetta against Luka Doncic.

During the postgame interview, the $48,000,000 forward (Spotrac) weighed in on Doncic's first of two technical fouls, suggesting that it might have been assessed based on personal reasons.

"He thought I was fouled, which I did get fouled, I got slapped across the head," Vanderbilt said. "He was just telling the ref what happened, and the ref was just like, 'I would talk to anybody but Luka.' It seemed a little personal, he was just advocating for me, saying I got fouled."

Luka Doncic received his first technical with just over four minutes left in the third quarter for allegedly "directing profanity toward a game official."

Later, Doncic was assessed with his second technical foul and ejected from the game while the Lakers held a 108-107 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. JT Orr assessed the second tech after judging that he had been verbally abused by the star guard.

Doncic protested that he had merely responded to a fan who was heckling him, however, the call was upheld.

“It was nothing to do with the ref, so I didn’t really understand it,” Doncic said in the postgame interview. “It was tough, but you know, that’s on me too. I can’t let my team down like that.”

Luka Doncic's ejection fueled a 29–12 run by the Thunder to overtake the Lakers and clinch the victory.

LeBron James calls out JT Orr as he defends Luka Doncic

During the postgame interview, LeBron James addressed the second technical foul assessed on Luka Doncic, which led to his ejection. James questioned JT Orr's reasoning for calling the foul, citing that Doncic was going back and forth with a fan, which is a common thing for him to do.

"I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal," James said. "He had already given Luka one [technical foul]. Luka knew that. Luka was going back and forth at that time with a fan that was sitting courtside, like Luka does."

LeBron James led the Lakers' losing effort on Tuesday with 28 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic logged 23 points, three rebounds, five assists and a block before his ejection.