Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Serbia and will be delayed in returning to the U.S. to rejoin the team, according to reports.
Our news partners at The Denver Post, along with ESPN, reported Tuesday that Jokic had tested positive, citing sources and that he had already started his quarantine. ESPN reported that Jokic “is expected to be cleared to travel to Denver within a week.”
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Jokic tested positive for the virus while in Serbia.
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 Nuggets declined to comment on whether Jokic or any other player had tested positive in a statement to Denver7.
“Due to medical privacy reasons, we won’t have a comment on this or any future positives that may occur. We will continue to follow league reporting and treatment procedures,” the Nuggets said.
The Arizona Republic also reported that two unnamed players of the Phoenix Suns have tested positive for the deadly virus.
NBA teams returned to their facilities on Tuesday to start having players and staffers tested before they fly to Orlando in early July to restart training camps ahead of the re-started season.
Wojnarowski tweeted Tuesday that one team in the Western Conference had four of its players test positive for the virus.
As coronavirus testing for players heading to Orlando starts today, teams are bracing for significant numbers of positive tests. One Western Conference playoff team had four positives in past few weeks, per sources. Full training camps start on July 11 at Disney.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2020
Jokic was seen sitting near tennis star Novak Djokovic at an exhibition basketball game last week, who also announced Tuesday he had tested positive for the virus.
