Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic returned to action earlier this week against the LA Clippers after missing 16 games, courtesy of a bone bruise sustained in Miami on December 29. The Serbian didn’t fuss about the time missed, nor did he look like he had just returned from the worst injury of his NBA career. But can he pull off another successful session as the Nuggets take on defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight?
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Jokic certainly looked fresh against the Clippers, ending up with 31 points and 12 rebounds in what was his 29th double-double of the season. More importantly for the Nuggets, it didn’t look like he knee was a bother.
In fact, the 7 time All-Star made it a point to note that he wasn’t even actively thinking about his knee, not even during the lead up to the game. But the Nuggets will want to be careful with Jokic, especially since his injury could very easily have been a ACL tear.
According to today’s injury report, Nikola Jokic has been listed as Probable for tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and he will most likely play.
Jokic has been itching to play for sometime and likely to not miss the opportunity to take on the Western Conference leaders. During an interview after the 122-109 against the Clippers, he had spoken about just how much he hated being on the sidelines watching the Nuggets go on without him.
“You miss playing. You miss the pressure. You miss the adrenaline. Just being out there with the guys and trying to win a game … It’s a collective that I missed. This hasn’t happened for me probably in my career. So it was an interesting feeling,” he had said, while thanking god for not protecting him from a serious injury.
“I didn’t know what to expect. Whenever I do preparation during summer, that’s something I really take pride with.”
“I really think the one from upstairs is protecting me and he knows that I did everything how it’s supposed to be.”
️ Nikola Jokic on if he thought he originally… pic.twitter.com/sM1XC1yiRH
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) January 31, 2026
Interestingly, this is the first time the Nuggets are up against the the Thunder this season. Both teams are set to play each other 4 times in the next two months though, so if things don’t go their way for either teams, there will be plenty of opportunities for a comeback.
