Brother of Nikola Jokić pleads guilty to punching fan during 2024 Nuggets playoff game

Strahinja Jokić, the older brother of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a fight that occurred during an NBA playoff game in April 2024. He pleaded guilty to one count of trespassing and one count of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

The incident drew widespread attention after a short video of the altercation circulated on social media following the Nuggets’ Game 2 win against the Los Angeles Lakers last postseason. The clip, which was later cited in a police statement of probable cause, appeared to show a verbal exchange between the Jokić brothers and a fan before one of the brothers struck the man in the face.

Investigators identified Strahinja Jokić as the person who threw the punch. According to police documents, he told officers he “felt he’d done nothing wrong because he was ‘defending an older man that he has known for a long time.’”

The older Jokić was initially charged with third-degree assault but ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser offenses as part of a resolution to the case. The incident did not involve his younger brother, Nikola, who was on the court at the time of the playoff game.

Jokić’s older brothers, Strahinja and Nemanja, are regular fixtures courtside at Nuggets games and have been protective presences throughout Nikola’s career. It’s not the first time Strahinja has faced legal trouble in Denver. In 2019, he was arrested for allegedly choking and pushing a woman during an altercation inside an apartment. He was charged with second-degree assault, false imprisonment and obstruction of phone service, later pleading guilty in 2020 to felony trespassing and a misdemeanor count of obstruction. The remaining charges were dismissed.

The Jokić brothers have also been involved in several public incidents tied to Nikola’s on-court altercations. In 2021, they traded social media messages with NBA players Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris after a scuffle between Nikola and Markieff during a game against the Miami Heat. That same year, video surfaced of Strahinja and Nemanja shouting at Phoenix Suns players from the stands following a hard foul involving Nikola during the playoffs.

While Nikola Jokić has largely stayed clear of controversy, his brothers’ passionate support has at times drawn attention away from the three-time MVP’s dominance on the court.