On December 29, when Nikola Jokic went out with a knee injury, there was a fear in Denver that Jokic’s season might have come to an end. There was a fear that Jokic could have a torn ACL. However, just a day after, the Denver Nuggets updated that the three-time MVP had hyperextended his left knee and should be out for a month. Just a week after, Denver received a positive update about their superstar’s injury rehab.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Jokic was on the clock in his rehab and had already begun activities to make a potential return at the end of January.

“Nikola Jokic is rehabbing around the clock and it’s really been every few hours he’s been weightlifting, he’s been getting cardio on the bike, he’s been icing that knee,” Charania said. “And I am told he has started spot shooting on the court…you’re looking at the end of this month as a window (for a return).

Charania added that the Nuggets were not rushing Jokic from the rehab and were giving him ample time to recover.

Denver went from fearing the words “torn ACL” to exhaling at the diagnosis of a left knee hyperextension that sidelined Jokic for at least four weeks but kept his season intact. Reports since have painted a picture of a three-time MVP treating rehab like a second job, cycling between the weight room, bike, ice, and now on-court spot shooting, with late January circled as a realistic return window.

Denver’s slate tightens at the end of the month, but it is the run into early February that quietly frames the Thunder as a perfect re‑entry point. After navigating a gauntlet that includes the Clippers on January 30 and the Thunder in Oklahoma City on February 1, Denver hosts OKC again on February 27 in a prime‑time showdown that could easily double as Jokic’s full‑strength declaration game if his ramp‑up tracks with the current timeline.​

These aren’t just any regular‑season dates; they are callbacks to a bruising 2025 West semifinal that saw the top‑seeded Thunder and fourth‑seeded Nuggets trade haymakers for seven games. Jokic authored monster lines in that series, including a 40‑plus, 20‑plus opener in a Game 1 win, but OKC’s depth, relentless pace and a 125‑93 Game 7 beatdown pushed Denver out of the postseason and turned this into a full‑blown modern rivalry.​

If Denver’s staff wants a truth serum for Jokic’s knee, there may not be a better opponent than OKC, whose identity is built on length, pressure and contact at every level of the floor. The Thunder have sat near or at the top of the league in defensive rating while suffocating opponents’ efficiency, forcing turnovers and contesting everything at the rim, making any Nuggets‑Thunder clash as much a medical barometer for Jokic’s recovery as a Western Conference power check.​

Before Jokic went down with the injury, he was having his career year and one of the best individual seasons recorded in league history. In 32 games, Big Honey was averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game, his second back-to-back season with a triple-double. Joker is sixth in scoring, first in rebounding and takes the same spot in assists.

Just when we’ve made the mistake of thinking that Jokic has had the best season, he comes up with another insane number. His shooting has been simply elite so far. He’s shot 60.5% from the field, including 43.5% from the 3-point line.

These are purely insane MVP numbers, and it’s hard to fathom anyone other than Jokic winning the award. However, it could legitimately go unawarded because of the NBA’s Player Participation Policy.

Despite positive news on Nikola Jokic’s rehab, his historic season could go unawarded

During a six-game winning streak in the first two weeks of November, Jokic’s numbers were too fantastical to actually believe. During that streak, the Serbian maestro averaged 35.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game.

On top of that, he recorded 73.9% in field goals, which also included 55.6% from the 3-point line. One of the games in that spell included Tyronn Lue letting Joker score, just to take away his passing. To Lue’s nightmare, Jokic destroyed the Clippers with a 55-point double-double.

These numbers aren’t just accidental; they certainly aren’t from NBA 2K. They, at least mildly, put Nikola Jokic’s season in context. It provides a justifiable narrative for one of the greatest NBA seasons being recorded before our eyes.

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The Nuggets superstar loves his horses more than his MVP awards and championship rings. Yes, if he had to choose between the championship and MVP awards, he would blindly choose the former.

However, when the season ends later this year, he could go home without the recognition he truly deserved.

Joker has exactly 17 games he could miss this season and still qualify for NBA honors. During the one-month window, Jokic would miss 16 games, assuming his recovery is on time.

This means he will be left with just one more game to avoid missing qualifying for the MVP award. If he misses the award by a game or two, considering his numbers remain consistent after his return from injury, it should seriously force the league to revise the 65-game rule. There should at least be injury exceptions.