It’s only getting worse for the Denver Nuggets, who will now be without Nikola Jokic’s backup, too. Jonas Valanciunas was ruled out on Thursday ahead of Friday’s game with a right calf strain that he suffered in the second half of Wednesday’s game. That news comes after Tuesday, when they found out the injury Jokic suffered on Monday will keep him out at least a month.

That leaves the Nuggets without their three-time NBA MVP, three other starters and their sixth man. Put another way, they’re without five of their highest-paid players when they take the floor in Cleveland on Friday.

Valanciunas said after the game that he “heard a pop” in his leg. He left the arena in a walking boot. Neither are good sign, but if it were an Achilles injury, those are typically diagnosed within a few hours of the pain starting. So it is likely just a calf strain and nothing more. However, those can mean days, weeks or even months.

Spoke with JV later. He was in a walking boot. Said he felt a ‘pop’ in his right calf. https://t.co/0RmqGU5LgZ

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) January 1, 2026

Valanciunas has been terrific off the bench for the Nuggets this season, and he was off to a strong showing in his first start of the campaign. He tallied 17 points and nine rebounds before exiting in the third quarter with just 23 minutes played. The center pulled up, holding his calf — leaving the Nuggets without a true big man for the final quarter-plus of the game. Denver beat the Raptors 106-103 anyway. Rookie DaRon Holmes II stepped up, and the Nuggets strung it together with a seven-man rotation led by a hot shooting game from Peyton Watson and Jamal Murray’s conducting.

Murray is the lone healthy starter. Cameron Johnson suffered a similar knee hyperextension injury a few weeks ago, a situation close to Jokic’s, which also resulted in a bone bruise. His prognosis meant a re-evaluation after a month as well. He joined Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun as other starters who had gone down, with each missing more than a month — Gordon with a hamstring issue and Braun with an ankle problem. Those two have a chance to return on this current seven-game road trip, which wraps up a week into the new year.

Valanciunas has been essential to the Nuggets’ improved marks in the minutes Jokic has been off the floor. While this big man won’t wow you with a triple-double every night, he averaged a double-double last year in limited starts and has consistently averaged both double figures in scoring and rebounds when starting throughout his 14 years in the NBA.

Valanciunas’ scoring per 36 minutes is at the best mark it has been in seven years. While his rebounding numbers are lower than they’ve been since he was a youngster, it’s worth considering that the Nuggets, who have the league’s best offense, aren’t missing as many shots and allowing for as many offensive rebounds. His rebound percentages are very near where they have been the last few years.

Valanciunas’ nice stats have played to a NET rating of -4.8, meaning the Nuggets are losing his minutes over 100 possessions by about five points. That may sound bad, but the Nuggets have lost the non-Nikola minutes by -9.3, -8.6, -10.4 and -7.9 over the prior four years.

Plus, Valanciunas had already played a ton with Murray since the guard normally staggers to run the second unit. Jokic and Murray’s 835 minutes played together this season rank fourth most in the NBA, with a staggering NET rating of 12.3. Valanciunas and Murray have played 252 minutes together for a NET rating of -7.7. It’s no secret that it’s going to be worse without the league’s best player, but the fact that there was already some chemistry was something to work off of.

After starting from basically square one without Jokic — first-time All-Star Jamal Murray said on Monday about Jokic, “Obviously, he’s not just a big part of what we do, but almost everything that we do” — they’re going to have to do it again without Valanciunas.

The plan will likely involve Holmes, perhaps even starting. Zeke Nnaji, who has been atrocious this season and couldn’t even get on the floor on Wednesday, will likely have to get another chance.

The Nuggets expect to get Braun back soon, which will help since they need all the talent they can get at this point. Though they need a big right now, and that may come when they can start offering 10-day contracts on Monday. Aaron Gordon should help plug the hole, but ideally, he wouldn’t be coming off a hamstring injury and slotting right into his unnatural center position.

So the worst news any Nuggets fan could imagine: losing Jokic for an extended time turns out to be not as bad as the real-world scenario, which now includes the possibility of Valanciunas sidelined for a while, too.