Last week, concern rose around the league after a video surfaced of Nikola Jokic sharing the court with a player who was later confirmed to be a carrier of COVID-19.
Today, as the NBA continues league-wide testing of players (in preparation of the season’s return), those concerns were validated.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nikola Jokic has tested positive for the virus.
Reporting with @WindhorstESPN: Nuggets star Nikola Jokic tested positive for the coronavirus in Serbia and his return to the U.S. is temporarily delayed. He’s been asymptomatic since testing positive last week. Jokic is expected to be cleared to travel to Denver within a week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2020
The good news is, Jokic is asymptomatic and doesn’t appear to be feeling any negative effects of the infection. On the flip side, one has to wonder how his diagnosis will affect the return of the 2019-2o season.
Jokic isn’t the first player to test positive lately and it has been reported that several Suns players also have the virus. Meanwhile, in Orlando, there has been a sharp increase in cases with the state of Florida being one of the newest hotspots for the pandemic.
If the season continues, we can expect Jokic to join his team in their run for the playoffs. And if they want to get far, they’ll certainly need him at 100%.
