NBA FINES TORONTO RAPTORS COACH $25,000 AFTER HE CALLED OFFICIATING 'B.S' AND A 'SHAME'

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic during a game against the Washington Wizards in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 27, 2023. Getty

Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday, two days after he ranted about officiating following his team’s 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Rajakovic took particular exception to how the Lakers got 23 free throws in the fourth quarter while the Raptors shot only two. The 21 free throw disparity was the largest for any quarter of an NBA game this season.

For the game, the Lakers took 36 free throws — 14 by Anthony Davis alone — and the Raptors took only 13.

“What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.,” Rajakovic said after that game, sometimes hitting the table where he was sitting for emphasis. “This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter?”

NEW YORK KNICKS SUE TORONTO RAPTORS FOR STEALING SCOUTING REPORTS, TRADE SECRETS

Reuters 

The National Basketball Association's New York Knicks sued rivals the Toronto Raptors in Manhattan on Monday, accusing the Raptors' new coaching staff of hiring a "mole" who gave the team their scouting reports and other confidential material.

The Knicks accused their former video, analytics and player-development assistant Ikechukwu Azotam, who left the team last week, of stealing thousands of proprietary files and forwarding them to the Raptors.

Representatives for the Raptors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the Knicks' parent company MSG Sports said that "given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action."

The Raptors hired Darko Rajakovic, previously an assistant coach with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, as their head coach in June.