INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Nick Van Exel apologized to just about everyone he could think of yesterday with one notable exception - referee Ron Garretson.

Otherwise, the third-year Los Angeles Lakers point guard was contrite when discussing his suspension for shoving Garretson onto the scorer's table Tuesday night in Denver, although he said he thought seven games was probably too severe.

''No, no,'' Van Exel said during a Forum news conference when asked if he would apologize to Garretson, whom he hit with his left forearm during a timeout with 3:23 remaining in a 98-91 loss. ''I would expect an apology from him. If he apologizes to me, I'll apologize to him.''

Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, Van Exel made it clear his behavior was unacceptable, but acknowledged he had a history with Garretson.

''Behind the scenes, me and him have been going at it for three years,'' Van Exel said. ''(But) I could have walked away. I didn't. I didn't go back to hit him, I didn't go back to touch him. It shouldn't have gone that far.''

Van Exel, 24, went after Garretson after being hit with a pair of technical fouls, meaning immediate ejection.

''I said, 'Good call, good call,' that's exactly what I said. He gave me a technical,'' Van Exel recalled. ''I know that wasn't right. I think sometimes authority uses their authority too much. If you get a technical foul for saying, 'Good call,' it doesn't make any sense to me.''

The NBA moved swiftly, handing down the seven-game suspension and a league-record $25,000 fine Wednesday.

The penalties came less than three weeks after Dennis Rodman was fined $20,000 and suspended six games for head-butting an official.

''First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone in the Laker organization, starting with Jerry (Buss, the owner),'' Van Exel said to start the 10-minute news conference. ''I've already apologized to my teammates.

''I did make a big mistake. I'm paying for it. It definitely won't happen again.''

Van Exel went on to apologize to his teammates and fans, ''especially the little kids. I'm really disappointed, I know I let a lot of kids down. I know I've let the team down big-time.''

At one point, he said, ''Who else can I apologize to?''

Rod Thorn, the NBA's director of league operations, said Van Exel would have been suspended for seven games even if that meant missing part of the playoffs. Coincidentally, the Lakers had seven games left in the regular season at the time.

''I wasn't expecting seven games,'' Van Exel said. ''It wasn't worse than a head-butt.''

When asked if he had a problem with referees, Van Exel replied, ''I think I've got an emotional problem. I'm so into the game. I want to win so bad."