One of Nikola Jokić’s brothers was sentenced to a year of probation in connection with a viral fight at a Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers game in April 2024, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, The Denver Post reported Friday.
Strahinja Jokić, 43, pleaded guilty to trespassing and disorderly conduct after punching a Lakers fan in the face courtside at the Nuggets’ Ball Arena. The trespassing charge is a misdemeanor, whereas the disorderly conduct charge is a petty offense.
Strahinja Jokić was initially charged with third-degree assault after video of the punch made the rounds on social media. The Lakers fan, identified as Nicholas Meyer, claimed in a lawsuit that he suffered a concussion as well as cuts and bruises on his face, plus a deviated septum, per The Denver Post.
“The assault shattered my sense of safety and control,” Meyer said in court Friday, via 9News.
“I became fearful of leaving my home, especially with my family. I worry constantly about retaliation, not just from the Jokić family, but from fans who might recognize me and act out violently.”
Strahinja Jokić was charged in July 2024. At the time, he told investigators that he felt he wasn’t in the wrong because he was defending an elderly man, whom Strahinja Jokić said he’s known for a long time, per CBS News.
In 2019, Strahinja Jokić was charged with assault and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing phone service and a felony count of trespassing as part of a deferred sentence, per The Denver Post, which reported that he was accused of choking and pushing a woman and then precluding her from calling 911.
Strahinja Jokić’s trespassing charge was dismissed in 2022 after he successfully followed court rules for unsupervised probation and didn’t commit another crime during the two-year term, according to The Denver Post, which cited court records. The plea agreement in that 2019 case also dropped false imprisonment and assault against Strahinja Jokić, The Denver Post reported.