Nikola Jokic was assessed a technical foul over a minor incident with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia on Sunday night, and Ishbia does not think there should be any further disciplinary action.
Ishbia sent a tweet on Monday morning defending Jokic. He said it “would not be right” for the NBA to suspend or fine the two-time MVP.
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
“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 a lot of respect for Jokic and don’t want to see anything like that. Excited for game 5! Go Suns!” Ishbia wrote.
Phoenix’s Josh Okogie tried to save a loose ball from going out of bounds during the second quarter of the Suns’ 129-124 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. Jokic came over to grab the ball back, but Ishbia wouldn’t let it go. Jokic gave Ishbia a shove, and the Suns owner completely flopped in response. You can see the video here.
Ishbia is well aware that he exaggerated the contact. Jokic barely stuck his elbow out and almost certainly had no idea the person involved in the tussle was the Suns owner.
Although Ishbia probably made the situation worse with his flop, it was good that he took to social media to defend Jokic. The NBA will likely agree that the act was not worthy of any further punishment.
The Suns tied the series at 2-2 with their win on Sunday. The last thing fans or the league want to see is Game 5 of an even series without one of the league’s biggest stars on the floor.
