Nikola Jokic will be out for at least eight weeks due to knee injury and according to initial reports, he could miss around 16 games. He already sat out a game in November. This means there is a high chance he will be below the 65 games required by the NBA under the Participation Policy to win an end-of-season award. These awards could also affect a player’s chance on max deals.
The team is not rushing their three-time MVP to return but coach David Adelman admits that the misfortune of Jokic missing awards is on their mind. He said he and staff already discussed it.
He explained that Jokic does not deserve to be affected negatively by the rule since he is not the type to miss out games excessively.
“I had this conversation with my staff. I understand the 65-game rule. But a guy that never misses games for a decade, it bothers me a little bit,” said Adelman after their win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
“This is not somebody who sits out. He never sits out. He’s anxious to get back.”
Jokic is a frontrunner for the MVP award this year. He was named to the All-NBA Team (First, five times and Second, two times) in seven straight years.
Nikola Jokic update
Jokic won’t be back in action until February. It’s timeline for him together with Cameron Johnson who hasn’t played since December 24 due to same injury
That’s the earliest according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“Early February increasingly looks like it could be the soonest that Nikola Jokić and Cam Johnson, both felled by recent knee injuries, can realistically return to the Nuggets’ lineup,” Stein reported.
Jokic hasn’t played since December 29 but his team are looking good so far despite it. Most of it are because of the increased play by Jamal Murray.
They are currently 4-3 and pulled off wins on the road against competitive teams like Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.
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