Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic went down with an apparent knee injury in the final seconds of the second quarter against the Miami Heat on Monday. As he went down, Jokic grabbed his left knee and couldn’t hide that he was in extensive pain. He was rushed to the locker room at halftime.
Backup center Jonas Valanciunas started the second half for Jokic. The Nuggets confirmed that the three-time MVP won’t return to action.
It happened when Spencer Jones was defending Jaime Jaquez Jr. The Nuggets’ two-way player stepped on Jokic’s foot, which led him to go down on the floor.
Nikola Jokic just went down holding his knee… oh no.pic.twitter.com/TeUN1HYf96
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 30, 2025
After the Serbian star went down, fans went into shock and panic. Here are some of what the fans said about Nikola Jokic’s injury.
“Damn… hope it’s not as bad as it looked,” a fan said.
“have never seen jokic do anything like this before so u know its bad,” another fan commented.
“Prayers up. We know how it feels big bro stay strong ❤️” one fan said.
Prayers up. We know how it feels big bro stay strong ❤️
— Agent 0 (@FT_Merchant05) December 30, 2025
“This the first time I’ve seen this overpowered demonic individual go down with an injury.” someone commented.
“My MVP is down oh no 😭” a comment read.
“Deadass the first time I’ve seen Jokic hurt. Hopefully it’s not a bad injury🙏🏾” a fan commented.
Jokic finished with 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists. The Athletic’s Sam Amick confirmed that the 2023 champion will have a full medical on Tuesday.
Nikola Jokic said the Nuggets’ defensive lapses resulted in a loss to the Magic
Before facing the Miami Heat, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets battled against the Orlando Magic. Unfortunately for Denver, they couldn’t get a win over Orlando and suffered a 127-126 loss on Saturday. Following the game, Jokic spoke about the team’s defensive lapses in the second half, which cost them the game.
“Just because two completely different halves,” Jokic said. “We didn’t play any defense in the second half. They were just laying the ball in, and on the [other] end, we had looks, we had shots, but just couldn’t make it. We had opportunity, but they won the game.”
Jokic put up a monster stat line of 34 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists. But that was spoiled, and the Nuggets wanted to bounce back against the Heat. However, their best player went down with a knee injury.
