The courtside incident during Game 4 of the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns’ playoff series shockingly involved new Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Nikola Jokic.
But don’t go telling the Nuggets that the scrum that including Ishbia — a former Michigan State hoops star — flopping involved an owner. Because, at the heart of it, they want to push it toward the fact that Ishbia, sitting in the seats, was a “fan” at that moment who was holding on to a basketball that Jokic thought could be used to play on right away.
Let’s start with what Jokic said postgame to reporters after the Nuggets’ win:
Nikola Jokic on the incident with the Suns owner:
"He told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put his hands on me first. I thought the league is supposed to protect us. But maybe I'm wrong.”
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 8, 2023
“The fan put hands on me first,” he said.
And when a reporter noted Ishbia is an NBA owner? He replied, “Sitting on the court, then he’s a fan, isn’t he?”
So there’s that. The same went for head coach Mike Malone (WARNING: NSFW language below):
Mike Malone: "I think it's crazy that Nikola [Jokic] got a technical foul… He's going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be apart of the game."
Reporter: "The fan was the owner of the Suns."
MM: "I don't give a sh*t."pic.twitter.com/pMrfe1HUGE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 8, 2023
“He’s going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball like he wants to be a part of the game,” Malone said.
That sounds like the argument here from Denver’s side. Let’s see if the NBA will listen.
