Police have appealed for people to come forward after video emerged that appears to show one of the brothers of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic punching a fan in the stands during Monday’s playoff game with Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA is also investigating the clip. The shocking footage emerged on social media showing two men getting into an altercation, with Jokic’s wife Nataljia standing nearby, holding their young daughter.
Jokic’s older brother Strahinja, who was arrested on suspicion of assault in 2019, appears to be the one who threw the punch, striking the man he was arguing with in the face. He can be seen wearing a ‘Jokic 15’ jersey and climbing over a row of seats to get nearer to the fan involved in the exchange, with other brother Nemanja appearing behind him.
The NBA has confirmed it is looking into the footage, while the Nuggets have also been approached for comment. And Denver Police have now said in a statement: ‘The Denver Police Department is aware of the video circulating on social media that appears to have happened Monday night at the Denver Nuggets game. The incident was not reported to Denver Police at the arena or after the game was over, and at this time, no one has come forward as a victim of this incident.
‘The Department is looking into this incident, is actively working to identify the person in the video who was struck, and encourages anyone who was involved or witnessed this firsthand to contact the Denver Police Department.
Shocking footage appears to show Nikola Jokic’s brother punching someone at Monday’s NBA playoff game between Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers
Jokic led his Nuggets team to a stunning 101-99 win over Los Angeles Lakers on Monday
The shocking scenes threaten to tarnish an otherwise brilliant night for the team at the Ball Arena in Denver.
The Nuggets came from behind to beat LeBron James and his men 101-99 on Monday night, with Jokic spearheading the fightback with 27 points and top scoring for his team – who are last year’s NBA champions. They hold a 2-0 lead in the series.
Strahinja has been in trouble with police for violent behavior before. He was arrested in 2019 for allegedly choking and pushing a woman.
The Denver Post reported that Strahinja got violent when the woman tried to leave his apartment and that he said he would choke her ‘until she fell asleep’. He was also alleged to have taken her phone away when she tried to call 911.
In February 2002, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of obstruction of phone service and felony trespassing, while other charges were dropped.
He got a deferred sentence and was told the charges would be dropped as long as he didn’t commit another crime by February 3, 2022.
Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, has spoken before about his somewhat unusual upbringing with his older brother.
He told Sports Illustrated in 2017 that Strahinja ‘once held down my arms and threw knives all around my head’ after refusing to climb a tree with him: ‘That was a little crazy.’
Jokic’s brother Strahinja pictured in 2019 after being arrested on allegations of assault
Jokic scored 27 points in Monday’s game as the Nuggets beat LeBron and the Lakers
Jokic also said in a Denver Gazette interview once that he doesn’t feel fear before big games because of his childhood.
‘Why be afraid? I am playing a game of basketball. I am scared of only one person in my life. That’s my brother. Have you seen him?’ he said.
The Nuggets head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 between the two teams. starting from Thursday night at Crypto.Com Arena.
