Nikola Jokić is averaging a triple-double for the second straight season.
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokić is listed as questionable on the injury report for Friday night’s game against the LA Clippers (9 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass), setting up the possibility the Denver Nuggets center plays for the first time since suffering a knee injury on Dec. 29.
Jokić has missed 16 games since limping off the floor just before halftime at Miami. He was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, with the Nuggets saying at the time the three-time NBA MVP would be re-evaluated in four weeks. ESPN first reported the plan for Jokic to play Friday.
Injury Report ahead of tonight's game against the Clippers:
PROBABLE:
Jonas Valančiūnas (Right Calf Strain)
Jamal Murray (Right Hamstring Inflammation, Left Hip Inflammation)QUESTIONABLE:
Nikola Jokić (Left Knee Bone Bruise)OUT:
Aaron Gordon (Right Hamstring Strain)… pic.twitter.com/lJgOfwMjJC— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 30, 2026
Just in on NBA Today — Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic returns for tonight's game against the Clippers: pic.twitter.com/VoSbKk9yaA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 30, 2026
The knee injury interrupted one of Jokić”s finest seasons. He’s averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists while shooting a career-best 43.5% from 3-point range.
His return Friday would help keep him eligible for major individual NBA awards this season. Should he play all the remaining games, he would finish with 66. He needs to appear in 65 of Denver’s 82 games to be eligible for most awards like MVP and All-NBA.
The 30-year-old Jokić has finished first or second in the MVP balloting in each of the last five seasons.
Jokić was hurt against the Heat when teammate Spencer Jones stepped on his left foot. The center from Serbia fell to the floor and grabbed at his knee before limping toward the locker room.
Denver has gone 10-6 in his absence.
Jokić’s return would be a boost for a Nuggets team that just lost Aaron Gordon after the high-flying forward reinjured his right hamstring. Gordon is expected to be out at least a month. Christian Braun (left ankle) and Cameron Johnson (right knee) remain sidelined.
