Lauri Markkanen Headlines Injury Report for Jazz vs. Nuggets

The Utah Jazz star is listed on the injury report once again vs. the Denver Nuggets.

Dec 15, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets are up for their first meeting of the 2025-26 campaign to start off the new week, and both sides have some key injuries of note heading into tip-off.

Here's the full injury outlook for both the Jazz and Nuggets:

Utah Jazz Injury Report

Walker Kessler - OUT (left shoulder injury recovery)
Kevin Love - OUT (rest)
Georges Niang - OUT (left foot stress reaction)
Lauri Markkanen - QUESTIONABLE (right groin injury management)

Lauri Markkanen is once again up in the air for this one, being deemed questionable with his lingering groin injury, an issue that has kept him out for the Jazz's past two showings against the Los Angeles Lakers and their latest game against the Orlando Magic.

If Markkanen is inevitably held out of the action, it'd be his third missed game in a row, and his fourth total absence of this season.

Dec 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dribbles the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

Kevin Love is also listed for the Jazz, who will be taking a night off after an impressive 16-point, 16-rebound performance against the Magic, and will leave Utah to pivot in their frontcourt rotation being without their backup big man to Jusuf Nurkic.

Denver Nuggets Injury Report

Aaron Gordon - OUT (right hamstring strain)
Christian Braun - OUT (left ankle sprain)
Peyton Watson - QUESTIONABLE (right trunk contusion)

As for the Nuggets, two key starters remain on the sidelines, that being Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, who have each been out for the past several weeks with their respective injuries.

Peyton Watson, Denver's fourth-year wing, has been one of their typical starters in recent weeks amid their injury troubles, but his status also remains in question after missing the past two games with a minor contusion.

If Watson is sidelined, it'll leave the Nuggets to likely roll out two-way signee Spencer Jones and veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. on the wings, pairing next to their dominant offensive duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Tip-off between the Jazz and Nuggets falls at 7 p.m. MT on Monday in Denver, where Utah will try to get the sour taste out of their mouths from a crushing overtime loss against Orlando.

Be sure to bookmark Utah Jazz On SI and follow @JazzOnSI on X to stay up-to-date on daily Utah Jazz news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• Kevin Love Speaks on State of Utah Jazz's Rebuild
• Three Takeaways From Utah Jazz's Brutal OT Loss vs. Orlando Magic
• Jazz G Keyonte George Can Make Unique NBA History vs. Magic
• Lauri Markkanen Among Starters on Jazz-Magic Injury Report
• Will Hardy Explains Jazz’s Unusual Lineup Experiment vs. Lakers