The Champions League final gave Nikola Jokic a break from basketball, and for a while, it looked like the perfect escape after a difficult NBA ending.
Arsenal faced PSG at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, with the match finishing 1-1 after regular and extra time before PSG edged it on penalties.
Kai Havertz gave Arsenal an early lead, and Jokic’s reaction quickly became part of the story. Yet what started as a night of hope ended in familiar frustration.
Nikola Jokic’s early joy fades as Arsenal fall short
Jokic was seen in the stands wearing an Arsenal shirt under a blazer, celebrating alongside fans after Havertz struck inside the opening stages.
The video spread quickly as the final unfolded, partly because the center’s soccer interest is not some passing curiosity attached to a major European night.
That connection runs deep. Jokic has publicly spoken before about his admiration for Arsenal icon Thierry Henry, one of the players he followed during childhood.
For a while, the final seemed ready to reward that attachment. Arsenal had the early goal, the emotional momentum, and a celebrity supporter living every moment in the stands.
But the ending was harsh. PSG forced penalties, and Arsenal’s hopes of Champions League glory slipped away in the shootout.
Gabriel Magalhaes missed the decisive Arsenal penalty, sealing PSG’s second straight title and leaving Jokic with a very different expression from his early celebrations.
The defeat followed a painful postseason for the Serb, who had already seen his Denver Nuggets knocked out in the first round by an injury-hit Minnesota Timberwolves.
