{"id":588242,"date":"2026-02-07T12:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/588242\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T12:14:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:14:33","slug":"nikola-jokics-ankle-injury-raises-doubts-for-upcoming-game-against-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/588242\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Jokic’s Ankle Injury Raises Doubts for Upcoming Game Against Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets<\/a> remain one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and with their superstar Nikola Jokic<\/a> back on the court, they are well positioned to make another deep run in the NBA<\/a> playoffs.<\/p>\n

Jokic hyperextended his left knee in late December, forcing him to miss 16 games, the longest absence of his 11-year career. However, the 30-year-old Serbian center returned in late January and has picked up right where he left off.<\/p>\n

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Before going down, Jokic had continued to play at an MVP-level. He already has an impressive NBA legacy as a three-time league MVP, eight-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection, and this year he is looking to add a second NBA title with such a talented group around him.<\/p>\n

\"Denver<\/p>\n

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) \u00a9 Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(\u00a9 Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

If he does so, he will need to stay at full health. Yet Jokic has already been added back to the injury report ahead of Saturday\u2019s game against the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, immediately raising concern as he only returned a week ago from his knee injury.<\/p>\n

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The Nuggets announced on Friday<\/a> that Jokic\u2019s status is in doubt for Saturday\u2019s matchup as he is dealing with a left ankle sprain. He received a questionable designation (h\/t Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette).<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether he suffered the injury during Wednesday\u2019s win against the New York Knicks<\/a>, but it is another setback in a season where he has also dealt with wrist issues, which is a tough break for Denver.<\/p>\n

He has continued to play elite basketball when on the court. Jokic is so dominant because he blends size, vision and touch in a way no other center can match. He controls the pace of games, creates shots for teammates, scores efficiently from every level, and reads defenses better than anyone in the league.<\/p>\n

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Throughout 36 games, Jokic has averaged 29.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 59.4% from the field and 41.8% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

Denver will likely take a cautious approach with Jokic\u2019s ankle, knowing the long-term goal is another deep playoff run. Preserving his health now gives the Nuggets their best chance to peak when it matters most.<\/p>\n

Related: Donovan Mitchell Sends Message to James Harden After Cavaliers-Clippers Trade<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Denver Nuggets remain one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and with their superstar Nikola…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588243,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[877,7168,7,1828,329,561,301,187,3943,6,191,253,302,1146,574],"class_list":["post-588242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-denver-nuggets","tag-aaron-gordon","tag-ankle-sprain","tag-basketball","tag-cam-johnson","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-christian-braun","tag-denver","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-denvernuggets","tag-nba","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-nuggets","tag-peyton-watson","tag-western-conference"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116029297724940124","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588242","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=588242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}