A person with knowledge of the situation says All-Star forward Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has tested positive for the coronavirus and is quarantining in his native Serbia.
Jokic is expected to be back in Denver long before the team leaves for the Disney complex for the restart of the NBA season next month, said the person who spoke The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because neither the player nor the team acknowledged the positive test publicly.
ESPN and The Denver Post previously reported Jokic’s positive test, which came on the same day that another top Serbian athlete – Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player – revealed that he and his wife had tested positive for the virus.
Djokovic and Jokic were together at an event earlier this month, though it cannot be concluded that that played in a role in the positive test of either athlete.
Jokic is averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds this season for Denver. Only four other players – Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Atlanta’s John Collins and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo – are averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season.
When the season resumes July 30 at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, the Nuggets will start with a 43-22 record, placing them 1-1/2 games behind second-place Los Angeles Clippers and 1-1/2 games ahead of fourth-place Utah in the Western Conference playoff race.
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