Major blow in the NBA: Jokic injures his knee

The NBA world stopped just before halftime of the game between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. Serbian Nikola Jokic, a three-time league MVP, headed to the locker room limping after suffering a left leg injury.

Although the first report indicated a possible return to the game, it didn't happen, setting off alarms of a serious injury that will keep him sidelined for quite some time.

"I only know it's in his left knee," coach David Adelman said, in remarks picked up by AFP. "Immediately he knew something was wrong, this is part of the NBA. We'll have more information tomorrow, right now I worry more about him as a person and the disappointment of going through something like this."

Unfortunate collision with Spencer Jones

The action occurred near the close of the first half, when Spencer Jones tried to defend a shot by Mexico's Jaime Jaquez Jr. and, in the leap, came to rest on the Serbian's ankle, which immediately grabbed his left knee. Almost instantly, Adelman went over to Jokic, who was giving clear signs of pain.

Shortly afterward he managed to get to his feet and made his way to the locker room walking with difficulty. Before the start of the second half, Jokic did not go out on the court for typical warm-up work.

"We all need some time to take in the situation," the 44-year-old coach added. "We need to get the information of what it really is and then we can focus on looking for what's best for the team."

MVP numbers during the current season

The expectation of the coaching staff is to have information before the trip to Toronto and to start the road to recovery as soon as possible.

The 2023 NBA champion exited the game after playing 19 minutes in which he scored 21 points, dished out eight assists and hauled in five rebounds.

Joker came into the game scoring 90 points in the last two games and averaging a triple double of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on the season-to-date, again presenting his candidacy for MVP.