“I’ve been coaching him now for 10 years: three MVPs, silver medal, medals in the Olympics, contracts, he’s never changed” said Michael Malone recently in reference to Nikola Jokic. Being two of the longest-serving members of the modern Denver Nuggets squad, the coach has depended on the Serbians for quite some time now. Malone often speaks during post-game press conferences and sends his flowers to Jokic for his stats or leadership skills. However, does the player himself holds up the coach in high regard? Not if one was to listen to a video that has now been making the rounds of the internet.

Yesterday, the official X handle of ‘Bricks Center’ uploaded a clip of Jokic discussing during a game’s break period. It was the matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. Both the player and the coach sat, with Jamal Murray sitting beside Jokic and a few of the Nuggets players also listening in. The Serbian star seemed pretty intense in putting out his point. He even stood up for a few seconds before returning to his seat.

The clip provided a ‘context’ for what Jokic was saying, which was “Do you know how easy this is for me? Do you any idea how fu**ing idea how easy this is? This is a fu**ing joke. And I’m sorry if you can’t do this. I really am, because I wouldn’t have to fu**ing sit here and watch you fumble around and f**k it up.”

Anyone who would listen only to the audio would certainly be surprised. How can Nikola Jokic talk to his head coach like this? However, by watching both the video and listening to the audio together, it is easily detectable that the latter is edited! For one thing, how can we hear Jokic so clearl? He and his squad were playing in the Ball Arena in Denver, which can house over 19,250 basketball fans. The noise given out by them, accompanied by the loud music that plays in the arena during breaktime, was nowhere to be found.

On top of everything, THAT IS NOT EVEN NIKOLA JOKIC’S VOICE. Anyone who has listened to any of his interviews or post-game pressers who know that the 3x MVP speaks English clearly, but his Serbian accent remains prominent. There is a reason why his voice and his facial features causes him to draw comparisons with Gru from the ‘Despicable Me’ series.

Even if Nikola Jokic said what the clip states, he wasn’t addressing Michael Malone anyways! The person who the Nuggets star was speaking to was Ryan Saunders, the franchise’s assistant coach. A quick pause during the video when the coach’s face becomes visible from the side, and it becomes obvious. Through all of this, one can deduce that: No, Michael Malone did not come at the end of Nikola Jokic’s energetic rant during the Nuggets-Mavericks game.

Nikola Jokic may have his share of heated moments from time to time, just like many NBA greats who came before him have had. Despite this, he wouldn’t take out his frustration on Michael Malone. The latter is the player’s biggest advocate. Even if he speaks sarcastically, he does so in a way that only indicates towards Jokic’s overall prowess.

Michael Malone takes dig at MVP voters over Nikola Jokic’s ranking “After tonight’s performance he’ll probably be 5th in the MVP voting”

In the last four years, Nikola Jokic has lifted the MVP trophy thrice! From coming in as the 41 overall pick in the NBA draft to achieving the status he has is no mere feat. However, despite being quite early in the season, a recent ranking has shown that the player has slipped. Put out by NBA TV, the recently released ‘MVP Ladder’ ranking places the Serbian at the 3 spot, with Jayson Tatum just above him and Anthony Davis wearing the crown! In light of this, Michael Malone certainly had some words to speak.

During the Nuggets-Mavericks game, Nikola Jokic gave attendees at the Ball Arena a treat. He ended his 38 minutes on the court by scoring a whopping 37 points against the Mavericks. The same was accompanied by 18 rebounds and 15 assists, marking the 136 triple-double of the player’s career. 3 more, and he will go past Magic Johnson’s record to take the 3 overall spot. Despite this, during the post-game presser, Michael Malone stated “I assume after tonight’s performance he’ll probably be 5th in the MVP voting” in a joking manner. He clearly made a dig at fans for voting 3rd. If not, then what else could it be?

Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum are exceptional players in their own right. However, as the Nuggets head coach himself revealed, he was been with the Serbian for over a decade now. Therefore, no one can admonish him for being a bit biased, and wanting to see his player earn more success down the road. To such a coach, can you believe that Nikola Jokic can even utter the F-word?