The Denver Nuggets have announced that Nikola Jokic has been diagnosed with hyperextension of his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks.

2025-12-31 06:59

The Denver Nuggets officially announced on Tuesday that Nikola Jokic has been diagnosed with hyperextension in his left knee. He will be sidelined for at least four weeks, but fortunately, his knee has not suffered any structural damage.

ESPN's Shams Charania further revealed that Jokic suffered a bone contusion in his left knee due to hyperextension. He was injured late in the second quarter of yesterday's game when teammate Spencer Jones stepped on his foot, causing his left knee to bend backwards.

In the short 18 minutes before leaving the game due to injury, Jokic had already efficiently scored 21 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists. The Nuggets also collapsed quickly after he left the game, ultimately losing 123-147 to the Miami Heat on the road.

According to ClutchPoints reporter Brett Siegel, the Nuggets expect Jokic's recovery period to be four to six weeks. This means he will miss about 16 regular season games, but is expected to return before the NBA All-Star Game in February.

With Jokic on the injury list, David Adelman's roster options are becoming increasingly limited. They currently sit third in the Western Conference with a 22-10 record, but all but Jamal Murray in their starting lineup are unavailable due to injury.

As the Nuggets' tactical core, Jokic has played 31 games this season, averaging 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 11.1 assists, and 1.4 steals in 35.1 minutes per game. He leads the league in both rebounds and assists. Even more impressive is his shooting efficiency, with a career-high 60.4% field goal percentage and 44% three-point percentage.