NBA superstars are no longer safe from the ejection whistle. Kevin Durant joined a list of All-Stars who have gotten quick ejections from games, getting thrown out late in Friday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic.
Kevin Durant is the 3rd superstar ejected quickly in 4 days. What’s going on?
No superstar is safe from a quick ejection anymore, apparently.
Durant joins LeBron James, who was ejected for the first time in his career on Tuesday, and Anthony Davis, who on Wednesday also got his first toss. In both instances, the general consensus is that the referees acted quickly.
This is Durant’s third career ejection — he received one during the 2012-13 season and also earlier this season. It appeared that it only took one technical for the referee to eject Durant, who was mad that a foul was called on the floor and not as an and-one floater. It did appear that Durant yelled, “F--- you,” at the referee.
Still, before this week, star players typically were given even more rope than most players to yell at referees. It’s worth asking if the NBA is cracking down on this sort of behavior, although they certainly haven’t made anything like that public.
Regardless, you know what they say: Twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend. Consider yourself warned, superstars.
