Sunday’s Game 4 matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets featured an absolutely wild incident between Nuggets star Nikola Jokić and new Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
Ishbia officially took over ownership of the Phoenix Suns in February from disgraced former owner Robert Sarver. He hasn’t been in the fold long, but it seems like he already has an enemy in the league in Nikola Jokić.
The incident occurred in the second quarter when the ball went out of play where Ishbia was sitting. Ishbia grabbed the ball and Jokić rushed over and ripped it out of his hands. This caused a scene with other fans in the area standing up and confronting him.
Nikola Jokić just pushed Suns owner Mat Ishbia out of the way to get the ball back. 👀 Nice flop by Ishbia, tho pic.twitter.com/k2SeoCbRTC
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 8, 2023
The moment also featured a pretty brutal flop attempt from Ishbia, who fell back into his seat once Jokić made contact with him with his elbow.
"Little bit of a, maybe a flop from Ishbia there?" 😂 pic.twitter.com/D6bz7q10Vw
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
Ishbia selling the contact from Jokić actually worked out in the Suns’ favor as the Nuggets star was issued a technical foul for this interaction.
Nikola Jokic just tried to grab the ball out of the Suns owner.
Jokic picks up a technical foul after the altercation.
The wildest part is the owner flopped, they must be practicing that at practice.
— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) May 8, 2023
Ishbia will never actually score a point on an NBA court. However, this moment directly led to one point for the Suns. Kevin Durant would go on to make the technical free throw after the foul call on Jokić.
Many around the NBA world took notice of this moment. Some were upset with the call while others praised Ishbia for his impressive flop.
Phoenix Suns Owner Mat Ishbia getting into it with Jokic and selling the chicken wing. Absolute cinema.https://t.co/pU9Em4dJRC pic.twitter.com/AOZY5ZZPnv
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 8, 2023
MAT ISHBIA IS OUR OWNER!!!!
AND HE’S A BOSS!!!! pic.twitter.com/GH3cbtXNiI
— Saul Bookman (@Saul_Bookman) May 8, 2023
NIKOLA JOKIC: *gentle push*
PHOENIX SUNS OWNER MAT ISHBIA: pic.twitter.com/lafsJj3Sbm
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) May 8, 2023
Mat Ishbia and Nikola Jokic in the commissioner’s office tomorrow pic.twitter.com/5vGIM6E8Mf
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) May 8, 2023
Can’t stop watching Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s “I’m hit, I’m hit” moment with Nuggets star Nikola Jokić. pic.twitter.com/crbSlkSUnj
— Dinn Mann (@mooseoutfront) May 8, 2023
The Suns came into the game trailing 2-1 in the series, making this Game 4 matchup an extremely important one to win on their home court. You can certainly debate the ethics in Ishbia’s flop during this incident, but he did directly impact this big game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.