Nikola Jokic has never been good at dealing with officials. He has never averaged more than 6.3 free-throw attempts per game, despite being a two-time MVP center.
For comparison, Joel Embiid, an MVP at his position, averages nearly double that. His career-high is 11.8 and he’s sitting at 11.6 so far this season. Jokic’s treatment from officials has vexed the Nuggets for years, and it’s manifesting more and more frequently.
Less than a month ago, on Nov. 20 against the Detroit Pistons, both Jokic and Nuggets coach Michael Malone were ejected for complaining to officials. In total, Jokic has now been ejected nine times in his career.
Many have been related to his frustrations. On Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls, it happened again. Late in the second quarter, Jokic believed he got fouled on a layup attempt, but no whistle came. He complained to the officials. They threw him out of the game even though he hadn’t yet picked up a technical foul.
Here’s where things start to get a bit unusual. Listen to the fans in Chicago as Jokic exits the court. They’re booing, and it’s not hard to see why. They paid money to watch the reigning Finals MVP. Instead, they’ll watch his backup because of a nonsensical ejection. That sort of treatment from officials is becoming all too common for Jokic.
Here’s where things start to get a bit unusual. Listen to the fans in Chicago as Jokic exits the court. They’re booing, and it’s not hard to see why. They paid money to watch the reigning Finals MVP. Instead, they’ll watch his backup because of a nonsensical ejection. That sort of treatment from officials is becoming all too common for Jokic.
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