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22 hours ago
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The sequence gets more entertaining the more times you watch it.
During Saturday's Clippers-Nuggets game, a ball was deflected out of play. It landed in the Clippers' bench area, and it was ruled Denver basketball.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic wanted to inbound quickly to avoid any potential challenge of the bang-bang call.
But the Clippers had interest in taking their time. So instead of letting Jokic just take the ball, Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy was joined by a couple of his colleagues in holding on tight.
Looked like Jokic was trying to rip the ball out of Jeff Van Gundy and the rest of the Clippers' coaching staff so that the Clippers wouldn't be able to challenge a call. Those coaches would not let go. Clippers got the challenge in (which they lost). pic.twitter.com/kgxQQa4RUN
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) April 19, 2025Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
You would generally think that the gargantuan NBA superstar Jokic would have the superior strength in this battle.
But Van Gundy held his own, a win for former Division III basketball players everywhere.
It's a new spot for Van Gundy to be in, at least of late.
He joined the Clippers as their lead assistant this season after nearly two decades on ESPN's top NBA broadcast team.
He had previously been the head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets.
In the 2023-24 season, Van Gundy was a senior consultant for the NBA champion Boston Celtics.
His name has been floated in recent weeks as a candidate for job openings around the league.
Van Gundy certainly still has the strength for the task.
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