Who is Chelisa Painter? Lakers’ Luka Doncic comes to NBA referee’s rescue after courtside fan hits her with the ball

A match between the LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings witnessed a dramatic scene when referee Cheslisa Painter was hit by a ball after a fan sitting courtside threw it at her. Following the incident, Lakers’ guard Luka Doncic came to Painter's rescue and confronted the fan.

Security officials approached the fan after Doncic pointed toward him and called them. The fan was later removed from the court at the Golden 1 Centre arena in Sacramento. He was flaked by security and walked out.

Video of the incident goes viral on social media

The video of the incident is making rounds on social media. The video showed the Lakers and Kings mid-play late in the third quarter, when the ball stumbled courtside. A fan, who was wearing a black shirt and hoodie along with blue jeans, went on to receive the ball. The fan is then seen aggressively throwing the ball to referee Chelisa Painter, who is standing courtside. Painter managed to deflect the strong throw with her hands.

However, Luka Doncic noticed the fan’s behaviour. The Lakers star then confronted the man. Match officials later approached the fan, and asked him to leave. The fan was then walked out of the court after a brief back-and-forth with the officials. Following the commotion ending, Luka was also seen checking on the referee, who gestured with a thumbs up towards him.

During the post-match talk with the media Doncic confirmed that his argument with the fan was due to him throwing the ball at the referee. “He just tossed (the ball) really strong towards the ref. I just asked him what the hell he was doing,” Doncic told reporters.

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What is known about referee Chelisa Painter?

The NBA named G League referee Chelisa Painter as an NBA staff official for the 2026-2027 season on October 14. Her name was announced alongside fellow G League referees Nate Cearley and Brent Haskill. It was announced that the three would continue to officiate NBA G league games while working on their NBA assignments.

According to the NBA, Painter has refereed three NBA regular-season games as a non-staff official during the 2025-2026 season. She has been working in the NBA G league over over five years and has officiated 215 games. Before working for the NBA, the referee was a NCAA Division I official.

Painter played high school and college basketball

Painter’s connection to basketball goes back to her college days. She played two seasons for both the George Washington Revolutionaries and Old Dominion Monarchs, according to ESPN. The 34-year-old match official is from Virginia’s Chesapeake. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Old Dominion University, where she played from 2012 to 2015.

According to her university profile, she also pursued a professional basketball career overseas and competed in Italy, Ireland and Luxembourg. Painter is also a qualified mental health professional.