Is Nikola Jokic Playing vs Lakers? Nuggets Reveal Final Injury Report

Will three-time MVP Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, in the midst of potentially his best individual season, be available for Friday night's critical clash against what is essentially the Los Angeles Lakers' JV team?

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According to an afternoon NBA injury report, the 6-foot-11 superstar big man was considered probable to play through a right elbow contusion and a left ankle impingement.

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Now, Jokic has officially been given the green light to suit up.

Nikola Jokic (elbow, ankle) available to play Friday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) March 15, 2025

Los Angeles is missing a whopping four of its normal starters. Only guard Austin Reaves will be available.

Five-time All-NBA First Team superstar guard Luka Doncic, the Lakers' prized new acquisition, is sitting out the second night of a back-to-back slate of games with a left calf injury and a right ankle sprain.

Starting small forward Rui Hachimura remains out with a left patellar tendinopathy. Starting center Jaxson Hayes is still on the shelf with his right knee contusion.

LeBron James, meanwhile, remains out with a groin strain.

Although the 6-foot-9 superstar has been with L.A. since 2018 and has led the club to a pair of Western Conference Finals and the 2020 championship, Lakers fans have struggled to embrace James the way they celebrated Hall of Fame former Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

Beyond the fact that Bryant spent all 20 seasons of his pro career as a Laker, winning five titles and appearing in seven NBA Finals, the reality that he and James were longtime rivals probably has a lot to do with L.A. fans' reticence to fully accept James.

Bryant's life was tragically cut short in a fatal 2020 helicopter crash. He had been embarking on a surprising entertainment career in the wake of his 2016 retirement.

Most notably, Bryant penned and produced an Oscar-winning animated short film, "Dear Basketball," co-directed by longtime Disney animator Glen Keane. Author Neil O'Brien recently spoke with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on his podcast Scoop B Radio, and revealed that Keane was "one of the key figures" of his new book, "After Disney." Like Bryant, Keane had departed a Los Angeles institution to strike out on his own when the two got together.

So does LeBron need to link up with Glen Keane for his own Academy Award-winning project? Or is the solution to truly being accepted winning a second title in L.A. alongside Doncic?

Time will tell.

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