Michael Malone bit his tongue when asked about how Nikola Jokic is officiated
Mar 6, 2025, 8:31 AM
Nikola Jokic has constantly been handed the short end of the stick when it comes to officiating in the NBA, especially when smaller players are guarding him. Wednesday’s win over Sacramento was no different, as the Serbian superstar was fighting through excessive contact all night long.
After the game, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was asked about the level of physicality allowed on Jokic as more teams have began fronting the big man to prevent him from getting the ball.
“There’s so many things that I want to say,” Malone said. ” And if you guys want to start a GoFundMe, I will say what I want to say.”
While Malone has racked up a fair share of technical fouls and ejections over the years, he learned his lesson early after being fined for treatment of officials in 2014 as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings. However, his issues with the officiating were clear to see on Wednesday.
I hate to be “foul guy” today, but come on, man, this game is just egregious. https://t.co/HmALhg6GfV pic.twitter.com/3bMFW0qvk4
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) March 6, 2025
Jokic shot just six free throws in the victory, right on par with his average amount of attempts for the season. The story has been the same in recent games for Jokic and the Nuggets, most notably in last week’s loss to Milwaukee, another game in which Malone wasn’t fond of the officiating.
The Los Angeles Lakers set the tone for this new style of playing overly-physical defense a few weeks back when they came to Denver and trounced the Nuggets. Since that game, more and more teams have changed their defensive philosophies, and the contact on Jokic has increased ten-fold.
It’s not just Nuggets fans or members of the organization who see and recognize this trend. The NBA world sees it every night the Nuggets play, but there has yet to be a sign of change.
If I was a Nuggets fan, I’d be furious at the whistle Jokic gets
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 6, 2025
As the playoffs rapidly approach, the physicality is only going to get increased, especially with a lot of solid, playoff-caliber opponents on the schedule for the final 20 games of the season, and it is unlikely the way Jokic gets officiated will change this season.
Malone kept his money by biting his tongue, and now has to shift his focus to Friday when the Phoenix Suns come to town.
