When Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokić went down clutching his left knee in the second quarter of Monday night’s loss to the Miami Heat, many NBA fans feared the worst. However, it appears that the three-time MVP avoided the worst-case scenario.
Just in: Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic has been diagnosed with a hyperextension in his left knee and will miss at least four weeks. An immense sigh of relief as tests show the three-time NBA MVP's knee ligaments are intact. pic.twitter.com/u8qLE0GDd3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 30, 2025
How long does a hyperextended knee take to heal?
Jokić being out for a month is certainly not good news, but the fact that all of his ligaments are intact means that Jokic avoided the worst type of hyperextension. A hyperextended knee can frequently lead to damage to the MCL, ACL, or PCL, but it seems that Jokić avoided tears to all of those ligaments. The Nuggets will re-evaluate their center in four weeks, but it seems like he should be able to return in early February, in plenty of time for the playoffs, which is great news for Denver.
Denver is already without three other starters: Christian Braun (left ankle sprain), Aaron Gordon (right hamstring strain), and Cam Johnson (right knee injury). As a result, the team will need to rely on players like Tim Hardaway Jr., Payton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas with Jokic sidelined.
The All-Star center suffered the injury on the final defensive possession of the half. Jokic was alone under the basket when Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. drove to the hoop. Jokić stepped up to help teammate Spencer Jones, who was backpedaling. Jones didn’t see Jokić and stepped on his left foot, causing the center’s knee to hyperextend and sending him to the floor, where he grabbed at his left knee. Trainers came over to assist Jokić, who was able to get up on his own, but was noticeably hobbling to the locker room and grabbing onto objects to help keep him upright.
Can Jokic still win MVP?
At the time of his injury, Jokić had 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in 19 minutes. He came into the game as the odds-on favorite to win another MVP, averaging 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 11.1 assists per game this season. However, being on the shelf for the next month may have shifted the MVP odds back in favor of Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who also won the award last year.
A player needs to have played in at least 65 games to be considered for year-end awards. Jokić has currently played in all 32 of Denver’s games. That means he can only miss 17 games from here until the end of the year. The Nuggets play exactly 17 games in January and have one game on Wednesday, December 31st, so if Jokić were to miss the entire month of January, he would be ineligible for MVP or any other year-end awards. While the Nuggets would clearly like their best player to be eligible to take home those awards, their priority will be to ensure he’s healthy for the playoffs, which means that Jokić should be considered a long shot to win MVP or take home any major awards this season.
