Nikola Jokic was cartoonishly animated over a trivial Nuggets challenge call
There are a few trademarks to Nikola Jokić’s game.
The MVP frontrunner is the best passer and post player in the NBA. He’s also the most efficient and is an underrated defender, at least when it comes to positioning and using his hands. But if the Denver Nuggets has one real flaw, it’s how he can let his emotions get the best of him sometimes.
We saw this on Tuesday night in a 117-107 overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Late in the fourth quarter, as the Nuggets mounted a comeback from down 22 points, Jokić had the ball knocked off of him by Phoenix’s Royce O’Neale. Except it was clearly off of O’Neale’s foot. But rather than calmly move on to the next play or just urge a challenge to Denver head coach Mike Malone, Jokić exploded in frustration.
Even for a player who sometimes wears his heart on his sleeve, it was to the point that we seldom see him this cartoonishly animated:
Nikola Jokic was BEGGING Michael Malone to challenge this
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 6, 2024
The funniest part of this Jokić tantrum is how inconsequential the challenge really was. Because the Nuggets succeeded and retained possession and then missed a long mid-range jumper anyway. So, what was the point of blowing up like that in the first place? Well, we usually only see that version of Jokić when he’s tired, frustrated by the officiating, or both.
Tuesday night’s defeat fits that bill.
In a tough loss where Jokić endured a lot of uncalled contact at the hands of the Phoenix defense while committing seven turnovers, it’s easy to see why he eventually vented it out, even in a trivial sequence.