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Nuggets center Nikola Jokic will be reevaluated in four weeks after being diagnosed with a hyperextension of his left knee, the team announced today (Twitter link).
Jokic injured his knee during Monday’s game against Miami. On Tuesday, Đorđe Matić of Meridian Sport, an outlet based in Jokic’s home country of Serbia, reported that the big man had hyperextended his knee but appeared to have avoided a more serious injury. The update from the club confirms as much.
Although the absence projects to be the longest of Jokic’s NBA career, the Nuggets are breathing a sigh of relief, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), since testing confirmed that the three-time MVP’s knee ligaments are intact.
Still, there’s no guarantee that Jokic will be able to return at the four-week mark when he’s reevaluated. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link) suggests the 30-year-old could end up missing closer to six weeks.
The Nuggets’ depth will be tested in a major way during that time. The team was already down three starters, with Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Christian Braun (ankle), and Cameron Johnson (knee) all on the shelf. With Jokic now out too, guard Jamal Murray is the only opening-night starter still standing.
Head coach David Adelman said over the weekend that Gordon and Braun have a chance to return during the Nuggets’ current road trip, which runs through January 7 (Twitter link via Katy Winge of Altitude TV). Until then, Murray figures to be joined in the starting five by Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas.
The Nuggets are off to a 22-10 start this season and are well positioned in the Western Conference postseason picture at the moment, but they don’t have a ton of room for error as they attempt to hang onto a guaranteed (ie. top-six) playoff seed. The No. 6 Timberwolves currently trail Denver by just a game-and-a-half, while the No. 7 Suns are three games back of the Nuggets.
Although Jokic and the Nuggets will be more concerned about their record and their position in the standings, it’s also worth noting that this injury could cost the superstar center his award eligibility this season. In order to meet the 65-game requirement and qualify for end-of-season awards, Jokic can’t miss more than 17 games — Denver will play 18 times between now and the end of January.
If Jokic isn’t award-eligible, his streak of seven consecutive All-NBA appearances would come to an end, as would a stretch of five straight years in the top two in Most Valuable Player voting.
Jokic has been putting up historic numbers so far this season, averaging a career-high 29.6 points per game while leading the NBA with 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per contest. His shooting line is an outrageous .605/.435/.853 and the Nuggets have a +12.3 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -6.3 mark when he’s not.
After losing by 24 points to the Lakers on Sunday, the Kings should have some reinforcements on Tuesday for their matchup with Los Angeles’ other team.
According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), center Drew Eubanks will be available for Tuesday’s game vs. the Clippers after having missed the past seven games due to a thumb fracture. Reporting on December 13 indicated that Eubanks – who appeared in each of the team’s first 25 games of the season, making 11 starts in the middle – would be reevaluated in three weeks, but it appears he’ll beat his projected recovery timeline.
Meanwhile, forward Keegan Murray has been upgraded to questionable after being inactive for the Kings’ past two games, Anderson adds. Murray, diagnosed last week with a calf strain, could also have a shorter absence than anticipated, since a report on Friday indicated that he’d be reevaluated in one week.
Here are more injury-related updates from around the NBA:
- The early reports on Nikola Jokic‘s knee injury out of his home country of Serbia are encouraging. According to Đorđe Matić of Meridian Sport, there’s a belief that Jokic hyperextended his left knee but avoided a more serious injury. The Nuggets‘ star center is undergoing more testing today, so it shouldn’t be long before we get a more formal update on his diagnosis and recovery timeline.
- Rockets center Alperen Sengun has missed two consecutive games due to what the team is calling a left soleus (calf) strain. However, head coach Ime Udoka said on Monday that he doesn’t believe the injury is a significant one, explaining that the club is just trying to manage a little soreness that Sengun experienced after Thursday’s Christmas Day game (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic).
- Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic will be out indefinitely due to a left hamstring issue, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Bogdanovic missed Sunday’s game vs. Detroit and has been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup with Sacramento with a designation of “left hamstring injury management.”
- Sixers forwards Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain), who have both been sidelined for over a month, are being “reintegrated into team activities,” the team announced on Monday (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports). That update suggests they’re practicing again and should be close to returning. Asked if he’ll play during the 76ers’ three-game road trip that begins on Tuesday in Memphis, Watford was noncommittal, simply referring to himself as “day-to-day” (Twitter video link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Given that the Bucks hope to operate as buyers at the trade deadline and make a second-half push into the postseason, teams around the league inquiring about star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo are being rebuffed, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirmed during a recent appearance on Sportsnet (Twitter video link).
“I’ve spoken to plenty of GMs that would love to have Giannis and have tried to talk to Bucks GM Jon Horst about acquiring him,” Scotto said. “And quite frankly, he’s not going anywhere, they’ve been telling me. The Bucks have been steadfast that he’s not going anywhere.”
Antetokounmpo reportedly entertained the idea of a change of scenery during the offseason, prompting the Bucks to briefly explore the possibility of a trade with the Knicks, but the two teams gained no traction in those discussions. If Milwaukee keeps losing and Giannis decides he wants to be moved, it will require a “more forceful” request from the two-time MVP, according to Jamal Collier and Shams Charania of ESPN, since the team won’t be looking to proactively deal him.
“The question is who is going to get made uncomfortable,” one league source told ESPN. “There’s a difference between saying it out loud and innuendos. [The Bucks] know Giannis doesn’t want to be the villain.”
We have more from news and notes from around the Central:
- Pacers guard Ben Sheppard missed an 11th consecutive game on Monday due to a left calf strain, but he was upgraded to questionable before being ruled out, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, which suggests his return may be imminent. Indiana has been banged up all season but got Aaron Nesmith back from a knee injury over the weekend and appears on the verge of having Sheppard back in the rotation too.
- The Pacers remain shorthanded in the frontcourt while Isaiah Jackson recovers from a concussion, which is what prompted the team to add free agent center Micah Potter last week. However, as Tony East writes for Circle City Spin, Potter’s stint with the team may be short-lived, since Indiana will have to waive him on or before next Wednesday in order to avoid guaranteeing his full salary.
- Veteran point guard Lonzo Ball was a DNP-CD on Monday as the Cavaliers picked up an impressive win in San Antonio, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). “We wanted to look at some different combinations, but also with Zo, I have a big picture thing of just keeping him healthy and fresh,” head coach Kenny Atkinson explained after the game. “It was kind of twofold for tonight. I spoke to him. We need him healthy and available. He has been so far. I want to keep that going. I know we don’t have back-to-backs, but we are playing every other day. At a certain point, I need to find him some games. I talked to him about it, and it just happened to fall on tonight.”
- As Fedor observes, Craig Porter Jr. played well as the Cavaliers‘ backup point guard in place of Ball, registering six rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes in the victory over San Antonio. Cleveland outscored the Spurs by 12 points during Porter’s time on the floor, which matched the team’s margin of victory in the 113-101 decision.
In his first 11 games of the season, Magic forward Paolo Banchero averaged 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 34.7 minutes per contest on .466/.250/.761 shooting splits, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. But Banchero, who strained his left groin on November 12, hasn’t been playing at the same level since he returned from the injury, Beede notes.
In the 10 games (32.9 MPG) leading into Monday’s contest at Toronto, the former No. 1 overall pick was averaging 17.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 4.8 APG on .397/.194/.743 shooting.
“I feel good,” Banchero said. “I’ve just been, (as) I said earlier in the season, trying to pick my spots and just play the role that I’m trying to, being asked to play for this team and just be that consistent force on both sides of the ball, whether it’s guarding somebody or making the extra pass.”
As Beede writes in another story, the 23-year-old had the fourth triple-double of his career on Monday (23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, 15 rebounds, 10 assists), but the Magic blew a big lead to lose by one. Banchero, who didn’t score in the fourth quarter, missed a step-back three as time expired.
“It doesn’t come down to that last shot,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “It comes down to the 21 offensive rebounds and those 18 second-chance points that (the Raptors) had in those momentum swings of the game.”
Here’s more on the Magic:
- Backup forward/center Jonathan Isaac, who dealt with multiple major injuries early in his career, has been relatively healthy the past couple seasons, appearing in 71 games in 2024/25 and 29 of Orlando’s 33 contests so far in 2025/26. However, he was limited to just 29 seconds of action on Monday due to left knee soreness, Beede adds. The Magic technically listed Isaac as questionable to return, but he didn’t play again after his brief initial stint.
- Desmond Bane, Orlando’s major offseason acquistion, experienced back spasms in the fourth quarter on Monday, per the team (Twitter link). The veteran shooting guard was also considered questionable to resume playing, but he wound up returning for the Magic’s final possession, according to Beede.
- Reserve center Goga Bitadze returned to action on Monday following a three-game absence, the team announced (via Twitter). The Georgian big man has been battling a left knee strain.
Coby White was forced to leave Monday’s game vs. Minnesota due to a right calf injury and did not return, the Bulls announced (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic). White hurt his calf in the first quarter.
As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network notes (Twitter links), White missed the first 11 games of the season — and 15 overall — due to a right calf strain he sustained in August. The 25-year-old also missed a pair of games with a left calf injury.
White, a seventh-year guard, just played his first back-to-back games of 2025/26 on Friday and Saturday, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The former No. 7 overall pick said he was still working to find his rhythm and improve his conditioning after Saturday’s loss.
“Just trusting my body and reacting to how I want to react,” White said. “I’m trying to get my legs underneath me as far as timing, decision-making. I’m trying to give myself some grace. I was really hard on myself [Friday against 76ers], where I felt like I couldn’t get my timing down. It’s leading to some turnovers that I feel like are unforced.
“Once I get my timing down and get my legs underneath me, I’ll be better.”
According to Cowley, while White and Chicago’s front office previously expressed mutual interest in resuming contract discussions in the offseason, the relationship between the two sides has “frayed a bit” with White’s name popping up in recent trade rumors ahead of unrestricted free agency.
We have more from Chicago:
- White wasn’t the only starting guard who exited Monday’s game early, as Josh Giddey sustained a left hamstring injury early in the third quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest (Twitter link via Johnson). It’s unclear when the injury occurred, but Giddey quickly asked to be subbed out after dribbling the ball up the court (Twitter video link).
- While White and Giddey were injured during Monday’s game, big man Zach Collins was hurt sometime before tip-off. Head coach Billy Donovan said the 28-year-old center has a sprained big toe and will likely be out at least a week, though there is not yet an official timetable for Collins’ return, per Will Gottlieb of CHGO Bulls (Twitter link).
- Forward Patrick Williams has largely been out of the rotation of late with Donovan opting for a double-big bench unit featuring Collins and Jalen Smith. Williams admitted he wasn’t thrilled with the demotion, per Cowley, but he handled it professionally and said he would be ready Monday with Collins out. “For sure, 100%,” Williams said of taking advantage of the opportunity. “Obviously you don’t want guys to go down. We all love Zach and what he brings to the game. It’s definitely an opportunity for someone to step up and if he calls my number I’m ready.” The 24-year-old wound up playing 21 minutes in the blowout loss.
Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic suffered a left knee injury just before halftime in Monday’s game at Miami, the team announced (via Twitter).
The three-time MVP will not return to Monday’s contest, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jonas Valanciunas started the second half with Jokic unavailable.
The injury occurred when forward Spencer Jones was bumped in the lane on defense, causing him to lose his balance and backpedal into Jokic (Twitter video link via SportsCenter). Jones’ right foot stepped on Jokic’s left foot, and Jokic’s left leg buckled. The Serbian center immediately grabbed at his left knee and collapsed to the court in pain.
Jokic had to be helped up with assistance. He made it to the locker room on his own, but he had a considerable limp and was clearly trying to avoid putting weight on his left leg.
The 30-year-old big man had 21 points (on 9-of-14 shooting), eight assists and five rebounds in 19 first-half minutes.
A source tells Amick that Jokic is expected to undergo testing on his left knee on Tuesday (Twitter link).
Obviously, any type of significant injury to Jokic would be absolutely devastating for the Nuggets. The 30-year-old big man is having an extraordinary season, averaging 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 11.1 assists and 1.4 steals on .604/.440/.855 shooting through 31 games (35.1 minutes per contest).
Jokic, who has finished either first or second in MVP voting each of the past five years, is averaging career highs in points per game, assists per game, three-point percentage and True Shooting percentage (.714). He leads the NBA in triple-doubles (16), RPG and APG, and is fifth in PPG.
The Nuggets were already playing without three injured starters on Monday. Aaron Gordon (strained right hamstring) and Christian Braun (sprained left ankle) have both been sidelined for several weeks, while Cameron Johnson recently sustained a bone bruise in his right knee and is expected to miss at least a month.
Cavaliers wing Max Strus underwent surgery in late August to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot. While he has been able to do some individual on-court work, including testing his foot by cutting and moving while shooting, he still isn’t practicing yet and there’s no timetable for the 29-year-old to make his season debut, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“The timeline is what it is,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “There’s no earlier or later.”
As Fedor writes, the Cavaliers have a busy schedule over the next few weeks — they’re playing every other day from December 29 to January 16. A full contact practice will be an important milestone for Strus before he’s cleared to resume playing, but the team may not have a scheduled practice until January 18, the day before the Cavs host the Thunder.
While Strus’ return doesn’t appear imminent, he could still have a significant role for Cleveland this season. According to Fedor, Strus’ minutes will be carefully managed when he starts playing again, but he’s eventually expected to be the team’s starting small forward, the same position he held most of the past two seasons.
Strus is earning about $15.94MM this season and will make $16.66MM in 2026/27 before hitting free agency.
Atlanta is viewed as a “real-deal suitor” for Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Chris Haynes reported on Saturday morning that the Hawks remain “very intrigued” by the possibility of acquiring Davis, whom the team has been linked to for multiple weeks.
However, there are several complicating factors that could prevent a potential trade from coming together.
While Haynes reported that Trae Young would not be included in an outgoing package for Davis, Stein suggests the four-time All-Star point guard might have to be sent elsewhere to make a deal work for financial reasons. The Hawks are not known for being big spenders, Stein observes, and having Young ($48.97MM player option) and Davis ($58.46MM) under contract at the same time in 2026/27 would make the roster prohibitively expensive.
Like many other reporters, Stein hears Davis is expected to seek a lucrative long-term extension once he becomes eligible to sign one in August, whether he stays with Dallas or is moved to another team.
According to Stein, there’s a “growing belief” around the NBA that the Hawks are open to moving Young, but whether they’d actually be able to find a suitable deal for him remains to be seen. As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported a couple weeks ago, rival executives think Young may end up having to exercise that player option, which doesn’t exactly point to a robust free agent or trade market.
Stein isn’t the only reporter to hear Atlanta could be looking to trade Young. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said something similar on Monday’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to Doric Sam of Bleacher Report).
“The Hawks certainly are indicating that they’re looking for the exit ramp with Trae Young,” MacMahon said. “They did not make any attempt to get him signed to an extension. When that’s the case with your face of the franchise, that’s a pretty clear message that the end could be near.”
MacMahon pointed to Ja Morant (Grizzlies) and LaMelo Ball (Hornets) as two other maximum-salaried point guards who are in similar situations as the Hawks and Young.
“If there is an attempt to trade these guys, it’s not going to be easy,” MacMahon said. “There’s not going to be some wide array of teams raising their hand and trying to get in on the bidding, and I’m not sure if you’re even gonna be able to make a trade that’s going to bring value in return.”
The Mavericks also already have Kyrie Irving in the backcourt, and while he’s still recovering from a torn ACL, it would make zero sense to pair him with a small, ball-dominant, defense-deficient guard like Young.
As for who the Hawks could send out for Davis, Stein says the team appears to be willing to part with 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher under the right circumstances, and points to the expiring contracts of Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kennard as salary-matching pieces. But it’s unclear if Atlanta would be willing to offer draft compensation — or if Dallas would be interested in that proposal.
According to Stein, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and the 2026 first-round pick Atlanta controls (the more favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ selections) are viewed as off-limits in any trade talks.
It’s also unclear how willing the Mavericks are to make an in-season deal involving Davis, as Stein hears governor Patrick Dumont is among a group of key executives who would like to see Irving, Davis and Cooper Flagg play together before making another major trade. Waiting until the offseason could be the prudent choice, depending on the types of offers the Mavs receive, Stein writes.
Haynes reported that the Warriors are considering making a run at Davis. According to Stein, while Golden State has a “longstanding fondness” for the 10-time All-Star, the team has reservations about his contract and lengthy injury history and doesn’t appear to be actively pursuing him.
As Stein notes, Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green would have to be included in a possible Davis deal for matching purposes, which is one reason why a trade looks unlikely at this time.
Stein continues to hear the Warriors are looking for the “best possible” deal centered around Jonathan Kuminga‘s $22.5MM contract once the fifth-year forward becomes trade-eligible on January 15.
The Hawks have gone 0-6 since Young returned to action earlier this month (he appeared in five of those games). He will miss Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City due to a right quad contusion, tweets Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks. Johnson is also out with an illness.
Starting center Jakob Poeltl is “currently completing a program of intensive rehabilitation and strengthening” for his lower back injury and will be reevaluated in one week, the Raptors announced today (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca).
Poeltl has missed three straight games — and five of the past six — due to his ongoing back issue, which the team has recently called a strain. The Austrian big man has been dealing with back problems since training camp, causing him to miss 12 total games to this point.
Toronto has upcoming home games vs. Orlando (Monday), Denver (Wednesday) and Atlanta (Saturday). Poeltl will be sidelined for all three of those contests before being checked out again ahead of next Monday’s rematch with the Hawks.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise. The Raptors signed veteran center Mo Bamba to a non-guaranteed contract on Monday morning, a strong signal that they expected to be without Poeltl for at least the short term.
While Poeltl has never averaged more than 30 minutes per game in a season, his 25.3 MPG in 2025/26 represents his lowest mark since the ’19/20 campaign, when he was a reserve with San Antonio. In 21 appearances this season, he has averaged 9.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 69.3% from the field and 59.6% from the foul line.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported earlier on Monday (via Twitter) that Poeltl is hoping to return at some point in mid-January. Poeltl’s injury is considered “annoying” rather than being a long-term concern, according to Grange.