Is Nikola Jokic Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Nuggets vs. Wizards)

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has returned to some on-court activities this month, but he will remain out of the lineup on Thursday night against the Washington Wizards.

Jokic, who injured his knee in late December against the Miami Heat, is dealing with a bone bruise and has missed the team's last 12 games. The Nuggets are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, and they are 7-5 without the three-time MVP this season.

However, oddsmakers are expecting a bounce-back showing from Denver on Thursday, as it is set as a 5.5-point road favorite in the odds at DraftKings against the 10-32 Wizards. Washington has dropped seven games in a row, and it's in danger of falling to the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

Last week, ESPN's Charania revealed that Jokic had returned to on-court workouts, but the star big man is still a week out from his initial four-week timeline for re-evaluation. Even if the Nuggets view Jokic to be healthy enough to play later on this month, they may want to consider holding him out through the All-Star break to give him some extra rest.

Denver's Nikola Jokic has resumed on-court workouts in rehab from knee injury -- the latest on the three-time MVP for NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/MqbWLcSazg
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 14, 2026

This season, Jokic is playing at an MVP level, averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. He and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were locked into an MVP race, but since the big man's injury, SGA has taken over as the prohibitive favorite.

The Nuggets, despite losing two games in a row, are still the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference this season. They'll look to build on that with a win over Washington on Thursday.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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