Stan Van Gundy accuses NBA referee of intentionally blowing calls to spite Nikola Jokić

Stan Van Gundy made a damning accusation about NBA referee Ed Malloy after the veteran official missed a call involving Nikola Jokić.

The Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 120-113 Thursday night. And according to Van Gundy the Nuggets may have been playing against at least one official too.

Late in the third quarter, Lakers forward Jake LaRavia drove to the basket and had the ball stripped by Jokić. The ball appeared to bounce off LaRavia, but Malloy called it off Jokić, giving possession back to the Lakers which lead to Luka Dončić hitting a three-pointer. Maybe Malloy just missed the call, it happens every game, right?

But Stan Van Gundy believes this was no accident, and Ed Malloy has some sort of personal vendetta against Nikola Jokić.

Is it just me or is this a wild thing for Stan Van Gundy to say 😳 pic.twitter.com/1wzgEZ47yi

— JJJJazzman (@MColoradoGA) March 6, 2026

“That was clearly off of LaRavia. Ed Malloy’s in a little bit of a battle with Nikola Jokić right now,” Van Gundy said during the NBA on Prime broadcast. “I hate to say it, but it’s become personal for Ed Malloy. But that was an obvious call. There’s no way Ed Malloy missed that call.”

That’s the type of accusation you might hear from fan or sports radio caller. But from a former head coach and current NBA analyst? It was surprising to hear Van Gundy call Malloy out so directly by accusing him of officiating with bias. It also seemed like a bit of a stretch. Sure, it was a bad call. But is this really the call you want to treat as blatant evidence of referee holding a personal vendetta against a player?

Commissioner Adam Silver has spoken highly of the NBA on Prime crew in their first season as a media rights holder. But Van Gundy accusing an official of purposely blowing calls is more damning than anything Charles Barkley may have said about the league on Inside the NBA. Regardless of whether Van Gundy is right or wrong about Malloy, if this stays as just an accusation or becomes a conviction, the idea of a referee intentionally missing calls to spite a player is something rarely ever seen on a national broadcast.