Nikola Jokic’s entire season and his fourth MVP campaign are in jeopardy now. The Nuggets took on old foes, the Miami Heat, on Monday night. But things went sideways in the final seconds of the second quarter. Jokic hyperextended his left knee. He limped off the court and never returned. His absence entirely shifted the tide of the game, and they lost badly. But the blowout loss was the last thing on anyone’s mind in Adelman’s post-game presser.

The Nuggets coach couldn’t give much of an update on Jokic‘s status.

“All I know is that Jokic has a left knee injury, and he needs to go through the process of what it is,” Adelman said. “Immediately, he knew something was wrong.”

Adelman is leading his first season as the Nuggets’ head coach after his predecessor, Mike Malone, was abruptly fired along with GM Calvin Booth during the playoffs. So, he knows the twists and turns in an NBA season. Losing your star player, the MVP frontrunner, is “gut-wrenching,” as Adelman rightfully terms it.

Jokic is currently being medically evaluated. We’ll likely know the prognosis on Tuesday, December 30. The only hope and saving grace for Nuggets fans and the Serb’s teammates is tomorrow’s injury report. That said, what can one expect?

Nikola Jokic’s injury could prove to be detrimental to David Adelman and the Nuggets

The way it all went down last night was indeed gut-wrenching. Spencer Jones stumbled after a shove and stepped on Nikola Jokic’s foot. That caused the hyperextension backwards. He tumbled, clutched his knee, and was in extreme pain. The medical staff tended to him on the court till he could go to the locker room by himself. The Serb was listed as questionable in the initial minutes but was eventually ruled out for the rest of the game.

It’s a shame because he had a phenomenal first half. He had 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in just over 20 minutes. Without him, Jamal Murray tried to keep the Nuggets’ chances alive. Yet the Heat proved too good to beat, confidently extending their lead in the last two quarters.

Jokic’s absence will clearly make a difference. Something that Adelman noted will weigh heavily on everybody until the injury report drops.

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“We’ll find out more tomorrow,” the coach optimistically said. “I’m more concerned about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like that.”

The Nuggets are already missing Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Cameron Johnson (knee), and Christian Braun (ankle). Losing Jokic after the way the 2025 playoffs went would reshape this team.

On the other hand, if Adelman can transform the Nuggets into a winning team without Jokic, he’s earned the job. He might be preparing for that too. As he said, the team is rallying together and hoping to overcome this setback, irrespective of Jokic’s prognosis.

Bear in mind that Jokic hasn’t missed a game this season.

“He’s not just a big part of what we do, but almost everything that we do,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said after the game.

Brian Sutterer, MD, refers to it as a “lower-severity type of hyperextension” to Jokic’s left knee. The medical expert believes the sight we all witnessed on the court suggested only a bone bruise, not something that’ll require surgery or rule him out for long. Other experts on social media also predict that it shouldn’t be a serious injury.

Hopefully, Jokic is returning to a winning team with his MVP campaign intact soon.