In Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic logged 41 points and a playoff-low four assists as Miami stole homecourt advantage with a 111-108 victory. Because of the Heat’s win and Jokic’s abnormally low assist total, as well as some quieter-than-usual nights from Jokic’s supporting cast, a prevailing storyline was that Miami opted to defend Jokic like a scorer and take away his playmaking opportunities.
After the game, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne began asking Erik Spoelstra about the narrative that the Heat had turned Jokic into a scorer. Before Shelburne could finish her question, however, Spoelstra cut her off to express his frustration about the idea that someone as great as Jokic can be turned into solely a scorer or passer.
Erik Spoelstra shut down Ramona Shelburne’s question about turning Jokic into a scorer or a passer quickly pic.twitter.com/PxcWQNN5w4
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 5, 2023
A day later, on NBA Today, Shelburne revealed that Spoelstra texted her and apologized, saying he wasn’t sure why he responded the way he did to that question.
“First of all, Erik Spoelstra and I are fine. We talked after the game,” Shelburne said. “He watched that clip back and texted me this morning, ‘Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.’ It was fine. In the heat of the moment, after a game like that, when things are intense, people say things and nothing is personal, especially during this time of year, during the Finals.”
Those in their feelings about Spo, he texted Ramona & apologized. It was in the heat of the moment. Y’all can move along now https://t.co/iXj80sosEU pic.twitter.com/kMUBX32vi8
— 𝙃𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝘼𝙇𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨 (@AIR305) June 5, 2023
There clearly appears to be no animosity between Spoelstra and Shelburne, and it’s nice to see how quickly both parties moved past the viral clip. Spoelstra’s gesture is thoughtful, even if Shelburne didn’t seem bothered by his response and understands it’s simply the nature of these pressers sometimes.