The NBA landscape may have just shifted drastically.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic went down on Monday night against the Miami Heat with an ugly-looking left knee injury. Late in the second quarter at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla., Jokic was stationed in the paint defensively.
Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. drove to the basket on Nuggets counterpart Spencer Jones and bumped Jones with his arm in the process. Jones was knocked backwards by the contact and ended up colliding with Jokic.
Jokic’s knee bent backwards as a result of the collision. He immediately crumpled to the ground in agony, grabbing onto his left knee. Here is the video.
Nikola Jokic is down holding his knee pic.twitter.com/6kUNzTAopx
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 30, 2025
Take a look at a better angle of the collision.
Nikola Jokic just hyperextended his knee.
— (@WadexFlash) December 30, 2025
Doesn’t look good… pic.twitter.com/34QCdy3QXF
Jokic was able to get up on his own but limped off to the locker room in obvious pain. He had 21 points and eight assists in 19 minutes at the time of the injury and was replaced by his backup center Jonas Valanciunas to start the third quarter.
The three-time MVP Jokic, 30, is once again the frontrunner to win the award this season with monster averages of 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 11.1 assists per game. Denver is also once again a legitimate contender to win it all, having entered play on Monday at 22-9 on the season overall (third in the Western Conference).
Jokic just submitted one of the all-time greatest performances in NBA Christmas Day history a few days ago. But an extended injury absence from the former NBA Finals MVP could have some major consequences for how the league standings (and the championship race) end up playing out.
