The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 3-0 in the NBA Cup this season by outpacing the cross-town Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. With the victory, they clinch the group and secure a spot in the quarterfinals, where they will fight to become the third team to hoist the in-season honor.
We are still early in the NBA Cup era and part of the effort to make these games stand out is to have the teams play on colorful alternative courts so viewers can know immediately what they are watching. These courts tend to draw attention, but not the kind of attention Luka Dončić paid to the one the Lakers used on Wednesday.
"Adjust the courts, please," Dončić said after his 43-point, 13-assist performance. "It’s just slippery. It's dangerous. ... I slipped a lot of times. You could see a lot of players slipped. That's dangerous, man."
Luka Doncic on the special NBA Cup court: "Adjust the courts, please. It’s just slippery. It’s dangerous.”
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) November 26, 2025
Luka Doncic mentions the problem with the court, twice, during the postgame conference.
Here are the two instances pic.twitter.com/I1MIQwiqG1
"It's just new courts so it's kind of tough," he added.
The Lakers star played on alternative courts in Memphis and New Orleans in previous NBA Cup action, but Dončić did not notice any issues during those contests. Tuesday's game came 24 hours after the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings hosted the Ottawa Senators at Crypto.com Arena.
Dončić's coach JJ Redick pointed out that there can be issues with courts not drying well due to condensation in such changeover situations.
The good news for all involved is that no one got hurt. One of the very last things the NBA needs is more sidelined stars. And the slippage may not have anything to do with a snazzy new court. Still, not a great look when one of the biggest names in the game is making a public plea to fix the playing surface at this stage of the tournament.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Luka Dončić Calls Out Dangerous Conditions After Lakers’ NBA Cup Win.
