Cleveland Cavaliers veteran Tristan Thompson stirred controversy during the team’s 131-108 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The seasoned center, who is currently averaging around 7.8 minutes of play per game, capped off the blowout win with a last-second dunk. This move drew boos from Raptors fans as Thompson jogged back down the court, and several Raptors players confronted him as the final buzzer sounded.
The altercation was quickly diffused, but Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic criticized Thompson’s late-game dunk as “disrespectful.” He stated, “I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful. I’m not going to stand for that, for sure. I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class.”
Raptors guards Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead were among those who confronted Thompson. While Barnes chose not to comment post-game, Shead echoed Rajakovic’s sentiments, saying, “What he did at the end of the game was just a little bit disrespectful to the game of basketball, not just us. We had a couple of choice words. We’re adults, we’ll move on from it.”
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell was visibly shocked, with his hands over his head in disbelief following Thompson’s dunk. Head coach Kenny Atkinson expressed uncertainty about Thompson’s intentions, remarking, “I’m not sure what he was thinking. Sometimes, though, you’re playing the game and you just have a reaction. I know with Tristan, there’s no bad intention there. I think just sometimes you’re playing and the goal of the game is to score. Unfortunate.”
Thompson, a Canadian native, contributed four points in four minutes during the game and is averaging 1.7 points and 3 rebounds per game over 28 appearances this season.
