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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Charles Curtis

Could the NBA suspend Nikola Jokic for Mat Ishbia incident? Here’s the rule that could be used

Here are the facts as we know them about the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns incident involving Nikola Jokic and Suns owner Mat Ishbia: The latter held on to the basketball that Jokic thought he could grab and use immediately with Josh Okogie stuck on the floor for a 5-on-4.

Ishbia didn’t give up the ball and appeared to flop as Jokic caught him with a little nudge of his forearm. But the point here is that Jokic made contact with someone — an NBA owner, although the Nuggets keep referring to Ishbia as a fan, which is the case they appear to be making here — sitting by the court.

Could Jokic be suspended here? There’s an NBA rule about ejections that’s noteworthy. Rule 12, Section V (all about “conduct), which says if anyone “deliberately [enters] the stands other than as a continuance of play,” they “must” be ejected. Note that Jokic got a technical foul and not an ejection but that may not matter here:

So: Did Jokic technically go into the stands here? Some think so, others don’t:

You make the call:

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