After an MVP season in 2020-21, Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic has been excellent to begin the 2021-22 campaign. In three games, the 26-year-old center is averaging 27.7 points, 16 rebounds and four assists per game with impressive efficiency, and Jokic is the centerpiece of one of the league’s most intriguing teams. On Tuesday, the Nuggets traveled to Salt Lake City to face a Western Conference rival in the Utah Jazz and, for much of the first half, Jokic’s stellar play was the lead story.
Unfortunately, that changed late in the first half, when Jokic bumped knees with Jazz center Rudy Gobert and was forced to leave the game.
https://twitter.com/FTBVids_YT/status/1453195600019607555
Walks off under his power (albeit with a limp). https://t.co/pmYZeA2uPd pic.twitter.com/sHzrBFS7p8
— Mike Singer (@msinger) October 27, 2021
As seen above, Jokic was able to walk off under his power, though he was eventually listed as questionable to return with a knee contusion.
Nikola Jokic has a right knee contusion and is questionable to return, I'm told.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) October 27, 2021
Before exiting, Jokic posted 24 points, six rebounds and six assists in just 15 minutes of play, shooting 8-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
One of the hallmarks of Jokic’s tenure as the centerpiece of the Nuggets has been his durability. He has appeared in at least 72 games in each and every season of his career, including campaigns that did not feature 82-game schedules. Still, this is a developing situation, and the hope would be that this is simply a hiccup for Jokic, rather than a long-term issue.
