Watch: Hours After Getting Benched by Coach Malone, Nikola Jokic Shows Off His Refereeing Skills on His Return

The champions of last year have finally made their way onto the hardwood. After recently facing the Phoenix Suns, the Denver Nuggets picked up this reason where they left it last season. By beating the Suns 115-107, they have kick-started their campaign on the right foot. However, something even more remarkable was put on a showcase by their star player.

After having a ball this offseason, Nikola Jokic made his much-awaited return to the game. Upon his return, he immediately went to show some new skills he had added to his catalog. Although the Serbian was benched by his coach earlier, Jokic’s refereeing skills got him heaps of praise.

Nikola Jokic puts his refereeing skills on display

The 28-year-old led his team to a surprising victory last season. With no “superstars” on the team, Jokic and co were absolutely determined to ruffle some narratives in the NBA world. The Denver franchise was eventually crowned the champions of the 2022-23 NBA season and they did it in style. After that, it was Jokic’s time to party, and we received several videos throughout the off-season of him doing just that. When he eventually made his return to the USA for preseason rituals, the Serbian hilariously said that he hadn’t been practicing as much as he’s been partying lately.

Read More: From On-Court Magic to Off-Court Deals, Is Nikola Jokic Heading in Tim Duncan?s Path?

Despite that, the talent remains on Jokic’s side as when he took center stage against the Suns; we saw him put up a show. More importantly, his refereeing skills were impressive enough to garner compliments. During the second quarter of the game, he called a defensive three-second violation even before the referee got his eyes on it. This made the commentators recognize another added skill to his vast catalog. “With everything else he can do, he’s also a pretty good official”, one of the commentators said.

This was hours before Jokic was benched by the coach, just to teach his team a lesson.

Coach Malone benched Nikola Jokic for a team lesson

Subbing off a player of Jokic’s caliber is not an easy task. However, for coach Malone, the team lesson comes first and he chose the 2x MVP to get his point across. During the training sessions with the team, Malone subbed off Jokic because he wanted to show the team how to defend properly during games. While everyone had a good laugh along with the important note by the coach, this also shows that the team is in the right mindset.

Going into the new season, do you think the Nuggets can repeat their last season’s feat? Tell us in the comments below.

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