{"id":553872,"date":"2026-01-22T20:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/553872\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:17:21","slug":"nuggets-nikola-jokic-isnt-returning-from-injury-yet-but-jonas-valanciunas-is-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/553872\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuggets\u2019 Nikola Jokic isn\u2019t returning from injury yet, but Jonas Valanciunas is close"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nuggets\u2019 Nikola Jokic isn\u2019t returning from injury yet, but Jonas Valanciunas is close<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Denver Nuggets<\/a> may regain some stability in the frontcourt as they begin a four-game road trip, even as their franchise centerpiece remains sidelined.<\/p>\n

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Denver (29-15) opens the trip Thursday night against the Washington Wizards (10-32) at 7 p.m. ET on MNMT, with center Jonas Valanciunas<\/a> listed as questionable<\/a> on the team\u2019s injury report due to a right calf strain. Star center Nikola Jokic<\/a> will remain out as he continues recovering from a left knee bone bruise.<\/p>\n

Valanciunas, 33, last appeared Dec. 31 in Denver\u2019s 106-103 win over the Toronto Raptors<\/a>. In that game, he delivered his most productive outing of the season, scoring 17 points with nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal while shooting 5-for-6 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in 23 minutes.<\/p>\n

For the season, Valanciunas has provided efficient production in a limited role. He is averaging 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting a career-best 59.3% from the field across 33 appearances, including one start. He has logged 13.3 minutes per contest, often anchoring second units while offering interior scoring and rebounding.<\/p>\n

Jokic has been sidelined since Dec. 29, when he played 19 minutes in a 147-123 loss to the Miami Heat<\/a>. In that outing, Jokic recorded 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds while shooting 9-for-14 from the floor before exiting as the injury lingered.<\/p>\n

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Nikola Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas statuses shape Nuggets\u2019 approach vs. Wizards\"@<\/p>\n

@ Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Last week, reports indicated Jokic had resumed on-court workouts<\/a>, a notable step in his recovery. His absence has forced Denver to adjust rotations and rely more heavily on depth along the front line while navigating a condensed January schedule.<\/p>\n

Shams Charania addressed Jokic\u2019s progress during an appearance on NBA Today.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big development here, Nikola Jokic has resumed on-court workouts for Denver, and he\u2019s right on schedule, if not a little bit ahead of schedule of making his return to the lineup by the end of this month,\u201d Charania said. \u201cThat\u2019s about that four-week initial early timetable that they had. The Nuggets are optimistic Nikola Jokic will be able to return by that late January mark. He\u2019s making great progress, rapid progress. If he is able to make it back by late January, it would also give him a window to be eligible for postseason awards.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For now, Denver\u2019s immediate focus remains navigating the road trip with a depleted but potentially improving frontcourt, with Valanciunas\u2019 status representing the most immediate reinforcement as Jokic continues his recovery.<\/p>\n

Related: Nuggets\u2019 nightmare 2026 NBA trade deadline scenario with Nikola Jokic out<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Nuggets\u2019 Nikola Jokic gets GOAT praise from LeBron James<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nuggets\u2019 Nikola Jokic isn\u2019t returning from injury yet, but Jonas Valanciunas is close appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,301,187,3943,6890,189,6,253,302,476,26547,468],"class_list":["post-553872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-basketball","tag-denver","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-jonas-valanciunas","tag-miami-heat","tag-nba","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-nuggets","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-valanciunas","tag-washington-wizards"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115940599084821378","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}