Kings' guard Dennis Schröder faces a three-game ban, confronting Luka Dončić in a heated hallway incident after their Lakers loss.
The Sacramento Kings were hit with another brutal update in the midst of their nightmare 2025-26 season, as 13-year veteran guard Dennis Schröder was suspended by the NBA after an incident that took place following the Kings' 125-101 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 28.
According to a new update from ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania, Schröder's exact suspension length has been revealed, though the target of the incident has not been named.
"The NBA has suspended Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder for three games for confronting and attempting to strike another player 40 minutes after Kings' loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Dec. 28," Charania shared via X on Saturday night.
Supplementary reporting from The Stein Line's Marc Stein has also provided the NBA world with a bit of a clearer understanding as to why Schröder has been suspended.
"The league issued the suspension 'for confronting and attempting to strike another player' in an incident 'approximately 40 minutes' after the Kings’ 125-101 loss to the Lakers on Dec. 28 'when Schröder sought out the player in an arena hallway and initiated the confrontation," Stein shared Saturday night.
Immediately after the news broke, speculation has begun to circulate placing Lakers superstar Luka Dončić at the center of the issue and as Schröder's potential target, as the two had an apparent back-and-forth during their game in late December.
NBA on Prime's own NBA insider Chris Haynes would later confirm that it was, in fact, Dončić who was the target of Schröder in the hallways of Crypto.com Arena.
"Lakers star Luka Dončić was the player Kings guard Dennis Schröder sought out in the hallway for a confrontation following a Dec. 28 contest, league sources tell NBA on Prime, NBATV," Haynes revealed Saturday night.
"Schröder will begin serving 3-game suspension tomorrow."
During the course of the Lakers-Kings bout that preceded Schröder's attempted strike to Dončić, the latter appeared to be jawing at the former a few separate times, leading even the Lakers fans in attendance to tell the 5-time All-NBA First Team selection to calm down.
Both players have been known in the past to talk plenty of trash, giving cause for what would end up being an eventual clash after the final buzzer sounded.
Schröder will now begin to serve his 3-game suspension, one that will cost the skilled German point guard a total of $291,807 in fines, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.