The Los Angeles Lakers did not use their NBA Cup court design for their 129-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, as the court was deemed unplayable by the league after superstar Luka Dončić called it “slippery” and “dangerous” last week.
“Adjust the courts, please,” Dončić told reporters following the Lakers’ 135-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. “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.”
The bright yellow court, which was made specifically for this year’s in-season tournament and prominently displays the NBA Cup trophy at midcourt and in the lanes, is fully painted and features the same finish as the Lakers’ standard home and City Edition courts.
There weren’t any issues during their NBA Cup games at the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the month, either, and some have speculated the NHL game played at Crypto.com Arena the night prior could have created unwanted condensation on the surface.
But with multiple players voicing concerns during their postgame media availability, technicians from the league’s court vendor inspected the court and determined it was unsafe and needed to be repaired. That’s why the Lakers used their standard home court on Friday night.
“That was bad,” forward Rui Hachimura said. “I felt it right away when I was warming up. It just felt weird. Just like oily, slippery. Everybody was on the floor, literally.”
It’s expected that the court will be repaired and available when the Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Dec. 10. They could potentially play one additional game on the court if they advance and are the higher seed in the semifinals.
“I really appreciate the Lakers and the league,” Dončić said after scoring 35 points on 10-for-18 shooting and and dishing out 11 assists in 40 minutes against his former team on Friday night. “They did us a favor.”
Photo courtesy of @Lakers on X/Twitter.
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