NBA fans are engaged in a heated debate as to whether Nikola Jokic should be suspended after pushing Phoneix Suns owner Mat Ishbia. Most of us should already be aware of what happened. The Suns were hosting the Nuggets for Game 4 of the second round in the Western Conference playoffs.
Although the Suns ended up winning, a physical altercation between the Nuggets star and Ishbia garnered just as much attention from fans across the world. With that being said, let us take a closer look at why Jokic behaved in this manner and how the people feel about this entire situation.
Why did Nikola Jokic push Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia?
While fans are certainly feeling strongly about the events that transpired, not many know exactly why Jokic decided to push Ishbia. During the play which led up to this incident, the Suns missed a shot and also ended up sending the ball out of bounds inadvertently. Josh Okogie ended up diving into the crowd in order to save it but was unsuccessful.
Nikola likely wanted to quickly secure the ball and push it up the floor in order to give his team a momentary advantage. However, Ishbia held onto it and prevented him from doing so. This clearly frustrated the Joker and he ended up pushing the Suns’ owner who landed back onto his seat.
This interaction fuelled a heated debate among fans as to whether Jokic should be suspended for his actions or not, “ Do your job and Suspend Nikola Jokic Next Game @NBA” and “Don’t you dare suspend Nikola Jokic for Game 5, NBA.” are some of the comments from fans on each side.
Do your job and suspend Nikola jokic next game @NBA
— S.W 🍇 (@EazyHeim) May 8, 2023
Don’t you dare suspend Nikola Jokic for Game 5, NBA.
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) May 8, 2023
Nikola Jokic should be suspended for a game. You can’t shove a fan.
— “Justice” Based Woodrow Stan (@BasedWoodrowFan) May 8, 2023
Although Isbia himself sent out a tweet indicating that he does not want Jokic to be suspended, this has not stopped the onslaught of criticism against the 2x NBA MVP. Thankfully for him, there are also a plethora of people defending him and calling out Mat Ishbia for getting involved by grabbing the basketball.
Great win for the Suns last night in an amazing series so far!
That should be and is the only story. Suspending or fining anyone over last nights incident would not be right. I have alot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) May 8, 2023
Nikola Jokic shouldn’t be suspended. But the Suns owner should. pic.twitter.com/9sYJoPjlDB
— coop (@LocalLegendCoop) May 8, 2023
In any case, nothing serious happened from this interaction and both sides seemed to have moved on from it. Hopefully, there is no suspension which would certainly influence the outcome of this series.
