Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic sustained a left knee injury at the end of the first half during Monday night’s game against the Miami Heat. The team initially listed him as questionable to return, but he has since been ruled out and is expected to receive full medical testing tomorrow, David Adelman said after the game.
Jokić fell to the ground after making accidental contact with teammate Spencer Jones, who was guarding Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jokić immediately fell while grabbing his left knee after making contact with Jones. He was quickly surrounded by members of the team’s training staff.
“Immediately, he knew something was wrong,” Adelman told reporters.
Jokić, 30, is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season. A three-time league MVP and the 2023 NBA Finals MVP, Jokić is averaging 29.9 points and is leading the league in both rebounds (12.4) and assists (11.1) per game for the Nuggets, who are off to a 22-9 start.
Bad luck would be better than the luck the Nuggets have had this year from an injury standpoint. Aaron Gordon is currently out with a hamstring injury, Cameron Johnson is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks after injuring his knee earlier this month, and Christian Braun is out indefinitely after suffering a significant ankle sprain last month.