Nikola Jokic was ejected without warning late in the second quarter of the Denver Nuggets’ game against the Chicago Bulls. Jokic turned around to yell at an official because he he believed he was fouled by Bulls center Nikola Vucevic while fighting for an offensive rebound. Fans at the United Center in Chicago booed the refs as Jokic was being escorted to the locker room.
It’s within the rules to eject a player for vulgar language directed the officials, but you rarely see that in the NBA. A player like Luka Doncnic curses out the refs on a nightly basis, but is rarely discipled for it because he’s a superstar. Why doesn’t Jokic get the same treatment.
Official Mousa Dagher made the decision to give Jokic the boot. The fact that this was Serbian Heritage Night, and the only time Jokic plays in Chicago all year, makes it even more inexcusable. Watch Jokic’s ejection here:
The Nuggets beat the Bulls anyway, 114-106. It’s impressive that Denver won this game with Jokic getting tossed before halftime and Jamal Murray not playing at all.
Jokic must have said something really bad to get ejected, right? Not really. The officials have to let this go.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) December 13, 2023Nikola Jokic was ejected from tonight's Nuggets-Bulls game with 1:08 left in the second quarter for arguing a no-call.
Jokic to the official: "Call the fucking foul."
Jokic almost seemed amused by how ridiculous his ejection was after the game. He said the official was lucky the game was played in Serbia, hinting that the fans would have retaliated. The Nuggets star also mentioned that some players can say whatever they want to the officials. Apparently not Jokic.
"I'm just happy that we didn't play in Serbia, this game. It's could've been really fun to see how it would be handled." - Nikola Jokić pic.twitter.com/cYmOwJQPOt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2023
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone couldn’t believe Jokic was ejected so suddenly. Watch his comments here:
"When I heard what he said, I said I don't understand the problem, because when I grew up, that was a term of endearment in my house." - Michael Malone on Nikola Jokić's ejection. pic.twitter.com/lW7eLdxmqb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2023
The refs wouldn’t even say what Jokic said after the game, offering no real description of why he was tossed. This feels like the officials dodging the question because they know they screwed up.
Mousa Dagher has a history of making quick ejection calls. He needs to remember why people are paying to attend and tuning in to watch the games. It’s not because of him.
For the NBA’s best player to be ejection for basically nothing on Serbian Heritage Night is truly unfortunate.