Nikola Jokić was ejected from Tuesday night’s game between the Nuggets and Bulls after an abrupt exchange with an official.
After a play during which Jokić believed he was fouled, the Denver big man spent his jog back down the court to play defense jawing at one of the officials on the court.
At the next break in the action, Jokić was asked to leave the floor. He had been assessed a double-technical, and was ejected from the game before the first half was through.
Jokić, baffled, continued to plead his case for a while before ultimately accepting his fate and walking back towards the locker room.
Even the Bulls announcing team was baffled by the call.
Nikola Jokic has been ejected, and fans at the United Center who paid to see him are NOT happy 😳 pic.twitter.com/XXxLrzUa0f
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) December 13, 2023
Moments after the dust settled in the United Center, word began spreading on social media that not only had Jokić been ejected, but it had come on Serbian Heritage Night at the Chicago arena.
ESPN reporter Jamal Collier clarified that while it was not an official celebration night at the stadium, there was a group ticket offer at the United Center.
Fans were not at all pleased with the official’s decision to eject Jokić from the game, and made their voices heard both in the arena and on social media.
when the home fans and home broadcast both hate this ejection you know it’s an especially bad one https://t.co/5DKQubeNkM
— Rohan Nadkarni (@RohanNadkarni) December 13, 2023
Chicago is home to the largest population of Serbians outside of Serbia. Jokic plays there once a year. What a shame for him to get ejected for THAT ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/ihbzIQGYmo
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) December 13, 2023
Lol listen to the Bulls broadcast. This is an embarrassing moment for the NBA https://t.co/g2Ibh5DcET
— RG 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) December 13, 2023
This is now the SECOND set of opposing announcers who have sided with Jokic (Detroit) and said that the NBA refs are Prima Donna’s who throw out the Best Player on the PLANET for NOTHING. https://t.co/zuhrbKfEfX
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) December 13, 2023
Listen to the Bulls announcers https://t.co/fPm9Z6AVDt
— Katy Winge (@katywinge) December 13, 2023
Jokić wasn’t the only player to be dealt a brutal technical on Tuesday night, as Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Mavericks earned a soft tech from the refs for hanging on the rim, which brought a similar chorus of boos from fans.
