Reactions from around the NBA for Mat Ishbia-Nikola Jokic incident

Suns owner and former Spartan hoops walk-on Mat Ishbia was pushed by Nikola Jokic on Sunday night and Twitter exploded.

I’m still stunned at what I saw near the end of the first half of Sunday night’s Western Conference Semifinals game between the Suns and Nuggets. Nikola Jokic put a forearm into the chest of Suns owner Mat Ishbia in the stands after one of his Phoenix players dove into the stands for a loose ball.

It wasn’t the most egregious forearm shove that I’ve ever seen, but it was enough to set the internet on fire. Even the announcers thought it was bizarre.

For me, it was one of the top three most bizarre NBA moments I’ve witnessed.

Ishbia, catching the ball after Josh Okogie dove out of bounds, was helping his player up with the ball under his right arm before Jokic sprinted over and tried to grab it while he wasn’t looking. Mat took exception to that and tried to get Jokic to back off before Nikola gave him the forearm shove (followed by a well-executed Ishbia flop).

The incident led to a technical foul on Jokic and it was basically forgotten for the remainder of the game.

After the game, both Michael Malone and Jokic said that it was a warranted shove and “the fan” shouldn’t have put his arm on Nikola. Yet Jokic was the initial aggressor.

Both referred to Ishbia as a “fan” which likely means they hadn’t been alerted of the potential severity of the incident. Pushing an NBA owner probably won’t sit well with the league.

The reactions from around the NBA are essentially calling for Jokic to be treated the same way that Draymond Green and Dejounte Murray were when they were both suspended for a game. Draymond “stomped” on Domantas Sabonis and Murray bumped a ref after a loss.

Do you agree with some of these reactions?

I’m ecstatic this happened. I’m going to have a FIELD DAY watching the double standards. I LIVE FOR THIS. https://t.co/3pMS5Xrs6f

— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) May 8, 2023

If the league suspended Draymond AND Dejounte Murray but doesn't suspend Jokic for pushing the owner of a team on live TV during a game the NBA has lost all credibility pic.twitter.com/xXtkXXDbpC

— Tony Tony (@OGTonyK) May 8, 2023

If this was Draymond Green (instead of Jokic), he would have been ejected and suspended from the next game. pic.twitter.com/McrUyNFmPu

— JA (@JABridgeforth) May 8, 2023

Jokic elbows a person who weighs 225 pounds less than him and people saying Matt flopped. Ok. Does not matter., players are not allowed to make contact with fans. If that’s Draymond or Dillon Brooks. We know the deal. So don’t be mad at me.

— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) May 8, 2023

If Draymond does what Jokic did then he gets ejected and also suspended for the next game.

— Brandon Awadis (@brawadis) May 8, 2023

If Draymond Green did what Nikola Jokic just did, the NBA would ban him from the league.

— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) May 8, 2023

Jokic, I enjoyed your performance, but I didn’t appreciate the elbow to my fellow Spartan and Suns Owner Mat Ishbia lol

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 8, 2023

TNT broadcasters just asked: Will Nikola Jokic be suspended for Game 5?

Team execs are wondering this too since the rule book says a player should be ejected for entering the stands. Jokic technically just went courtside so there’s room for interpretation. We’ll find out Monday. pic.twitter.com/8jBYdKgSOy

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 8, 2023

Jokic weighed in and said the league did a poor job of protecting players.

Nikola Jokic on his interaction with Suns owner Mat Ishbia. pic.twitter.com/9z1vhsgBsC

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 8, 2023

What a wild situation that the Spartan owner is involved in. We’ll find out on Monday if the league is willing to punish Jokic further.