The Denver Nuggets could be reunited with their three-time MVP by the end of the month.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday on NBA Today that Nikola Jokic had resumed on-court workouts and is aiming for a return at the end of January.
Charania added that the Serbian star is “right on schedule, if not a little bit ahead of schedule of making his return to the lineup by the end of this month.
Jokic hyperextended his knee in a loss against the Miami Heat on Dec. 29, when teammate Spencer Jones stepped on his foot. The big man immediately went down in pain and left the game, and was later ruled out for four to six weeks with a left-knee hyperextension.
The Nuggets have done a solid job of staying afloat without the seven-time all-star, going 5-3 — including four wins through their last five — in the eight consecutive games Jokic has missed. Denver sits third in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record entering its matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old was in the midst of another stellar campaign when he got hurt, averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists on 60.5/43.5/85.3 per cent shooting splits through 32 games. Even after missing over two weeks already, Jokic still leads the NBA in average rebounds and assists while ranking fourth in scoring.
All of which should put him in the running for potentially a fourth MVP award — he’d be just the fifth player all-time with four or more — if Jokic can meet the 65-game minimum.
According to Charania, the Nuggets are “optimistic” about the “rapid progress” he’s made to potentially return for late January, and that if he were to be back in that window, Jokic would still have a good chance of reaching the required games to be award eligible.
