The Tuesday night clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors did not play out in a way that Raptors’ Head Coach Darko Rajakovic deemed to be unfair. So, he decided to voice his frustrations during his mandatory post-game press conference And what he said may end up going down in coaching history.
A Man You’d Want To Go to War For
Unless you’ve spent the last 24 plus hours under a rock, you’ve surely seen some version of this clip:
Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic was heated in the postgame presser, unhappy with the Lakers 23 free throw attempts in the 4Q pic.twitter.com/1xvoXrUM6k
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 10, 2024
If you have been living under a rock and don’t feel like watching that clip, Rajakovic was frustrated because the Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter while the Raptors only shot two. He believes that it wasn’t a result of a difference in physicality. But rather, it was a sign that the officials were showing bias toward a large market team like the Lakers.
Greatness Comes At A Cost
Rajakovic’s rant has earned him a great deal of praise on NBA Twitter. If people questioned his competitive fire before, they certainly aren’t now. Also, if they didn’t feel this way before, you best believe that Raptors’ players are willing to run through a brick wall for Rajakovic now.
Unfortunately, it seems like respect and admiration comes at a cost. And for Rajakovic, that cost will be about 25,000 dollars, as on Thursday, it was announced by the league that Rajakovic would be fined that amount for his post-game outburst.
The NBA hits Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic with a $25,000 fine https://t.co/kh2wyUvZaw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 11, 2024
Ironically, Rajakovic had his legendary outburst just a few days after he met up with one of the greatest head coaches of all time, Phil Jackson. Maybe Jackson imparted some words of wisdom to Rajakovic that led to his iconic speech after the Lakers’ loss.
Will these types of post-game sound bites from Rajakovic become a staple part of his style? Was this just a one-hit wonder? Who knows. All I do know is that he’s earned my eternal respect.
