Nikola Jokic's Brother Charged With Assault For Punching Man During Lakers Game: Report

Matt Levine | Aug 22, 2024

During Game 2 of the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff series against the Denver Nuggets this past season, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic's brother found himself in some trouble. Jokic's brother, Strahinja Jokic, was caught punching a fan in the face courtside during the game at Ball Arena.

Here is video of the incident between the brother and fan.

Strahinja Jokic was charged with third-degree assault after a video went viral on social media that appeared to show him punching a man in the face at Denver’s Ball Arena during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, per @denverpost

pic.twitter.com/8tcVuhNa6v

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 22, 2024

According to Shelley Bradbury of the Denver Post, Strahinja appeared in court for an assault charge. The punch from Jokic's brother came after a verbal exchange with the other fan.

The fan who was hit by Strahinja suffered a concussion and bruises to the face. He originally wasn't going to press charges against Jokic's brother but later decided to do so.

According to the report in the Denver Post, Strahinja felt that he had done nothing wrong because he claimed that he was defending an older man in the process. He was given a protection order to stay away from the victum and is to return to court in October to enter into a plea.

This is not the first time that this brother has dealt with the police in Denver. He was charged with assault in another incident back in 2019 when he was accused of choking a woman and preventing her from calling for help.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of obstructing phone service and was given a felony count of trespassing. The charge of trespassing was dismissed in 2022 after he successfully completed the terms of the agreement to not commit another crime for two years. The misdemeanor conviction still stands today.

This is another situation that Jokic's brother finds himself in and we will know more about his punishment, if any, at a later date. In the game where he punched the fan, the Lakers blew a massive lead on the Nuggets to fall 0-2 in the series.

Los Angeles would go on to lose the series in five games, ending their season. Game 2 was the best chance for the Lakers to shock the basketball world and possibly take down the Nuggets.

It wasn't meant to be and the Lakers have spent this offseason looking for answers. They replaced former head coach Darvin Ham with JJ Redick and are hoping that they can compete against teams like the Nuggets next season.

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