Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to
The NBA entered Phase 2 of its comprehensive reopening plan Tuesday, with players reporting to teams in their respective home markets to undergo mandatory coronavirus testing. The Arizona Republic reported Tuesday that two unidentified members of the Phoenix Suns also tested positive, while other teams don’t expect to have test results until Wednesday.
In the weeks after the NBA’s shutdown on March 11, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, and Utah Jazz announced that members of their teams had tested positive. The Nuggets and Suns would not confirm the positive test results, citing “medical privacy,” and it remains unclear whether the NBA or its teams will formally announce future positive tests.
Jokic, a two-time all-star and 2019 all-NBA first team selection, is the highest-profile player slated to participate in the NBA’s planned return, which is set for Disney World in July, to test positive. ESPN first reported the test result, which comes after Nuggets head coach Michael Malone revealed to CBS’s Denver affiliate earlier this month that he tested positive.
While Jokic had spent time during the shutdown working out in Denver, he returned to his home country of Serbia in recent weeks. Pictures of a slimmed-down Jokic alongside Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis star, circulated last week. Djokovic announced Tuesday that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“I am deeply sorry our tournament has caused harm,” Djokovic wrote in a statement. “We believed the tournament met all health protocols and the health of our region seemed in good condition to finally unite people for philanthropic reasons. We were wrong and it was too soon.”
In photos and videos from his meeting with Djokovic, Jokic was not wearing a mask or adhering to social distancing guidelines. He will remain overseas until he is cleared to rejoin the Nuggets.
Various NBA team executives expect additional players to test positive this week, and the league’s return timeline was structured to accommodate that possibility. Teams are scheduled to begin traveling to Disney World on July 7, giving players who test positive this week sufficient time to self-isolate and pass multiple coronavirus tests and cardiac screenings before proceeding to Orlando with their teams.
Jokic, 25, averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game before the league’s shutdown, leading the Nuggets to a 43-22 record and the third seed in the Western Conference. After finishing fourth in last season’s MVP voting, Jokic emerged as a candidate to receive votes again this season. His positive test heightens questions about the NBA’s return, which comes as the number of new daily coronavirus cases is surging in Florida, and as numerous professional sports teams in the state have had players test positive.
If Jokic had tested positive while at Disney World, he would have been placed in isolation and sidelined for 10 to 14 days. The NBA’s health and safety protocol dictates that games will continue even if a player tests positive, meaning that an extended absence for a superstar like Jokic could drastically alter his team’s fortunes and even contribute to an early exit from the playoffs.
