WATCH: Full Video Reveals Truth About Nikola Jokic Incident

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During Wednesday night's game between the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets, superstar center Nikola Jokic got tangled up with Magic guard Jalen Suggs. While the initial angle made it look like Jokic struck Suggs around the head area, the full video with multiple angles reveals the truth about what happened on that play:
Things got heated between Jalen Suggs and Nikola Jokic 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/8Ha5RyFay1
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) November 23, 2023
While Jokic had his left arm across the chest of Suggs, the Magic guard threw his head back and fell to the floor, which made the initial angle look as if Jokic struck him in the head area. The full video, which includes both angles, clearly shows no contact to the head of Suggs.
What also contributed to the initial angle looking like Jokic struck Suggs in the head, was the swinging motion Jokic made with his right arm. There have been different opinions on what Jokic was doing with that swing of his arm, with some arguing he was trying to get Suggs off of him, and others arguing he was swinging at the Magic guard, but the bottom line is that Suggs was not brought to the floor by that swing.
As the full video shows, Jokic made no contact with Suggs on that swing of his right arm, as the Magic guard was already throwing his head back and falling to the ground prior to that motion. While it's understandable why so many interpreted this incident a certain way based off the first angle, it's clear this wasn't as violent of a situation as it may have looked at first.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.