Nikola Jokic Has A Left Ankle Sprain And Will Miss ‘Several’ Games


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For the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic, it’s a case of bad news that could have been worse.

Nuggets fans were dreading the worst when their star center rolled his ankle on Thursday night in a game against the Chicago Bulls, fearing they’d lose Jokic for an extended period of time. Denver had already lost Paul Milsap to wrist surgery this season, and both bigs out of the lineup would put Denver’s playoff hopes in dire straits early in the year.

The team diagnosed Jokic with an ankle sprain during the game. He got X-rays and was evaluated by the Nuggets on Friday and, as it turns out, he’s going to miss some time. The good news is, there doesn’t appear to be any bone damage to his leg which means his absence will be measured in games and not months.

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Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that tests showed no damage to Jokic’s leg other than the initial sprain.

An MRI on Friday revealed no further damage, league sources tell ESPN.

Jokic, one of the league’s most talented young post players, turned his ankle during a victory over Chicago on Thursday night, leaving the game in the second quarter. X-rays on the ankle were negative.

It’s a huge relief for Nuggets fans, who will have to endure a difficult stretch of basketball without their two bigs, but were obviously fearing the worst when Jokic couldn’t walk on Thursday night.

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