Veteran forward Joe Ingles has always been considered as somewhat of a jovial, lighthearted personality among NBA players. During Tuesday’s game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, he put those qualities on display. After he drew an illegal screen from Blake Griffin, Ingles jokingly gave Griffin a pat on the head and received a technical foul as he sauntered down the floor.
Ingles got a tech for tapping Blake Griffin on the head
pic.twitter.com/ANS6CJwJc7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 15, 2023
It looked like a playful move from Ingles, but one Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla took exception to, for which he was vindicated by Ingles’ tech. The video above makes it hard to tell how Griffin interpreted Ingles’ tap on the head, but the officials clearly didn’t approve.
This isn’t the first time Ingles and Griffin have been involved in some on-court banter and high jinks either. Back in January 2019, after Ingles was penalized for an illegal screen against Griffin, Ingles called Griffin a “flopper” as the two walked to the other side of the court together. While Ingles never appeared in a preseason game with Los Angeles Clippers, the two did spend some together in the organization when Ingles was on Los Angeles’ 2014-15 training camp roster as well, so they have a history that dates back a while.