The Toronto Raptors became the talk of the town among the NBA fraternity following one of the greatest post-game rants from a coach in the league’s history. Toronto’s head coach Darko Rajkovic called out the match officials after he felt that the officiating was unfair and ‘outrageous’. He felt that the officiating disproportionately helped the Los Angeles Lakers in a 132-131 loss for Toronto.
He clearly called out the officials and was unhappy with their biasedness. He felt the foul disparity between the two teams was ‘complete BS’ and a ‘shame’ for the league.
Rajkovic’s reaction became viral and some fans praise his passion for the Raptors. Even Rajkovic’s former players Kevin Durant and Devin Booker complimented his passion for his team and his courage to speak up in such situations.
Booker shared how much it means to the players when their coach is so passionate and cares so much about the team. “I think you gotta love that about your head coach, man,” Booker told Duane Rankin of AZ Central. “I know the players in Toronto respected that. You want a coach who cares that much and is defiantly emotional about winning and losing and standing for his team. I didn’t watch the game. I don’t know what calls he’s talking about but you’ve gotta love that from your coach.”
Meanwhile, Durant laughed at the incident when the question was raised to him. While he didn’t see the game, he didn’t miss Rajkovic’s comments. “Darko coached me for a few years in OKC and he’s been that intense since then. And he was like a rookie coach then and he was still that intense. So I appreciate that from all coaches,” he told Rankin.
Booker played under Rajkovic while the two were briefly in Phoenix Suns. Durant worked with Rajkovic when the two were a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Even Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel had shown support for Rajkovic’s actions. He lauded him for standing up for his team and calling out the situation. “Good for him for standing up for his team,” Vogel told Rankin. “I commend him for standing up and speaking up for his team.”
Rajkovic will certainly be fined for his comments but the league has not made his punishment official.
