Nuggets Announce Aaron Gordon Injury Update Before Grizzlies Game

When injuries could not seem to get worse for the Denver Nuggets, they suffered another blow on Friday night. While playing against the Milwaukee Bucks without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, Jonas Valanciunas, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun, the Nuggets pulled out a close win, but not without suffering another injury.

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon seemed to tweak his hamstring late in the second quarter of Friday's game and would sit out the entire second half. On Saturday, the Nuggets announced that Gordon suffered a right hamstring strain and ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Aaron Gordon looked like he tweaked his right hamstring in the final minute of the 1st half 🙏 pic.twitter.com/5wPsTFO61r
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) January 24, 2026

Aaron Gordon suffers another injury

It is certainly not surprising that the Nuggets have already ruled out Gordon for Sunday's game, although it is disappointing that they will be without the key forward again.

Gordon recently missed 19 consecutive games with this same hamstring injury, and after returning to action in early January, he has already tweaked it again. Nuggets head coach David Adelman said after the game that they are optimistic that "it's not as bad as the last one," but there has been no announcement on when he will be re-evaluated or how long he will be sidelined for.

Of course, the Nuggets are hoping that Gordon does not have to miss another month, although it would be surprising if we saw him play again before the All-Star break.

Jan 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) gestures in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

This season, Gordon is averaging 17.7 points (career high), 6.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 40.0% from three-point range. After starting his season with a 50-point explosion, it was obvious that Gordon was ready to make the most of his 2025-26 campaign, although injuries have certainly limited him.

Gordon has already missed half of Denver's games this season, and re-injuring his hamstring will likely sideline him for a bit longer. As the Nuggets still battle through injuries to Jokic and other key players, the concern continues to grow, but they can simply hope that they will be fully healthy in time for the postseason.

Who will step up in his absence?

Gordon does so much for the Nuggets that it is hard for anyone to replicate his impact, but two-way forward Spencer Jones will likely fill in for him in the starting lineup while he is out. Jones makes a big difference on the defensive end and can knock down three-pointers, but his all-around impact does not come close to Gordon's.

Spencer Jones knocks down his third three-pointer of the quarter. Great start from him pic.twitter.com/efvmGrPHUj
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) January 21, 2026

Not to mention, Jones only has five games left until he is out of eligibility under his two-way contract, and would not be able to play again until the Nuggets give him a standard deal. Of course, that is expected, but the Nuggets will likely wait until the trade deadline to give Jones his contract. If that is the case, the Nuggets could be without both Gordon and Jones for a few games leading up to the February 5th deadline.

If the Nuggets are playing without Gordon, Jones, and Jokic at the same time, their frontcourt could be in trouble, and Zeke Nnaji would certainly have to step up.

The Nuggets could be severely shorthanded for Sunday's game in Memphis, but as usual, they will have to lean on their role players to answer the call and step up when they are needed most.

Aaron Gordon suffers another injury

Who will step up in his absence?

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