As the clock winded down in the final seconds, All-Star big men Nikola Jokic and Bam Adebayo met for a brief embrace on the court.
Although it looked like a very sweet moment after a reunion between the two centers that led their teams to the NBA Finals last season, this ended up with a slightly more sinister consequence in the stat sheet.
Following a hug between the two parties, Adebayo simply picked up the ball that the Denver superstar innocently left bouncing on the floor. This counted as a steal for Adebayo and a turnover for Jokic.
steal pic.twitter.com/4wHNCnTZmw
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 14, 2024
It ultimately didn’t matter much because the Nuggets still won the game, but this also just goes to show fans that not all turnovers are created equally. For example, all Jokic did to deserve this turnover was be kind to a rival.
All in all, however, it was generally an impressive defensive performance on Jokic from Adebayo. The former Defensive Player of the Year finalist held the reigning NBA Finals MVP to just 12 points in 37 minutes of play despite a loss for Miami.
