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Denver's three-time NBA MVP injured his left knee during Monday's game against the Miami Heat
Published Dec 30, 2025 • Last updated 9 minutes ago • 2 minute read
Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic walks on the court during Monday's game against the Miami Heat.
Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic walks on the court during Monday's game against the Miami Heat. AP Photo
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Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic was in a mountain of pain on Monday, going down with a scary-looking knee injury during a game against the Miami Heat.
The three-time NBA MVP went down in a heap during the final seconds of the first half of the game, clutching his left knee.
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The incident occurred when Jokic, who was defending under a drive under the basket, had his foot stepped on by teammate Spencer Jones. With Jokic’s foot trapped, his left knee appeared to twist slightly and hyperextend.
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Nobody is allowed to exhale until the MRI results this morning, but it sounds like Nikola Jokic may have avoided major injury. That could change based on imaging but they’re hoping it’s just a bone bruise. Either way, @nuggets are suddenly minus four starters. Discussing now on… pic.twitter.com/61mYEFPI4B
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) December 30, 2025
Jokic left the game and did not return with the Serbian big man set for a MRI on his knee on Tuesday to reveal the extent of the damage.
After the game – which the Nuggets lost in a 147-123 blowout – coach David Adelman commented on Jokic’s injury, calling it “gut-wrenching.”
“All I know is that Jokic has a left knee injury, and he needs to go through the process of what it is… immediately, he knew something was wrong,” Adelman said.
“This is part of the NBA. Anyone who gets hurt, it’s gut-wrenching. Especially somebody as special as he is. We’ll find out more tomorrow and move on as a team. I’m more concerned about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like that. It’s unfortunate, and we’re hoping for the best. We have to stay with it to best support our teammates who are out and honour them when they play. It sucks, but hoping for the best.”
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Early reports are optimistic
According to reports from Serbian media, Jokic is said to have avoided serious injury.
Meridian Sport initially reported that the outlook is encouraging while Vic Lombardi of Altitude TV also suggested that there is optimism around Jokic’s situation and the hope is that it is only a bone bruise.
Online sports medicine analyst Brian Sutterer also shared a similar sentiment, saying he is more “optimistic” than “pessimistic” after reviewing tape of the incident.
“This overall looks like a lower-grade, lower-severity type of hyperextension,” he explained.
“The other good thing is that nobody hit directly on the knee backwards, and he wasn’t running while this was occurring … A knee hyperextension can absolutely cause something more serious like an ACL or PCL tear. However, in this scenario, I think there are more positive prognostic things to look at than there are negative.”
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What impact will injury have?
However, Jokic’s status for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors is looking rather pessimistic — which is actually good news for Toronto, which has struggled mightily against the league’s better big men so far this season.
Before going down on Monday night, Jokic had been on track to accomplish something never before done in the NBA: lead the league in both assists and rebounds.
As of Tuesday morning, he leads the league with 12.2 rebounds per game (Karl-Anthony Towns is next at 11.9) and assists per game with 11.0 (Cade Cunningham is second with 9.6). Jokic also ranks fifth in points per game with 29.6.
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