Very often in the NBA we see some players, especially long players, walk off the court with deep scratches on their arms due to physical struggles under the basket with opponents. A case in point is Nikola Jokic, who frequently reports these kinds of injuries and marks on his arms. Marcin Gortat, a long Polish player who played in the NBA from 2007 to 2019, complained about this very problem when interviewed by HoopsHype.
Recalling his time in Orlando, when he shared the role of center with Dwight Howard, Gortat said he considered “punching his partner in the face” several times because he closed so many practices bleeding from Howard’s too-long fingernails. Not only that, the Polish also proposed instituting an actual rule requiring players to cut their nails.
“In practice against Howard he was a nightmare! Marking him in the game was different. There were practices where I almost punched him in the face. I thought, ‘Okay, now I’ve had enough.’ I was angry. I was bleeding at the end of every practice. My lips, my teeth, my hands were all scratched. I still have the marks of those scratches, all because of Dwight. Even on the chest. He never cuts his nails. Jesus. I was bleeding every single time. And every time I complained, he would say, ‘Marcin, you’re the worst referee in the NBA. Okay thank you, but now I’m going to punch you in the face.” Gortat recounted.
Hence the idea: “There should be a rule about it. It’s ugly, I’m not saying from an aesthetic point of view but just healthy. How many times you get cut because you fight for the ball. Do you know how many times you get hit in the face and scratched on the body? There should be a rule, everyone should cut their nails.”.