Nuggets Franchise Legend Reacts to Nikola Jokic's Injury

With Nikola Jokic out for the next four weeks of the NBA season due to a hyperextended left knee, the Denver Nuggets are tasked with a monumental challenge of filling the void left by the three-time league MVP in the lineup for the next month in order to stay alive in a daunting Western Conference.

Already without four of their five starters in the lineup, Jokic's injury adds to what's been a nightmarish season in Denver through the first two months of the year despite their 22-10 record, but now enter what looks to be the most difficult stretch of their campaign thus far, being without Jokic for the longest stretch of his career.

In the mind of Nuggets legend Carmelo Anthony, though, there might be a bit of a silver lining in the midst of Jokic's crushing injury, considering that his absence allows an opportunity for others around the roster to step up and show what they're made of without the best player in the world.

"This is not a, 'Can Denver survive?'... It's really about— what does this moment kind of reveal for the other guys and what does it reveal about Denver's identity?" Anthony said during a recent segment on NBA on NBC.

"What does it reveal about the margins, about their championship pedigree? Like, what does this reveal for the team? How are we gonna approach this without our leading scorer and without our guy? He's our spacer, he's everything on that team."

"So now, we have to figure out, as a team, where does this push us? Because we know Joker being out, this changes the geometry of the whole league, right? So guy's teams is looking at this, like, here's our opportunity to close that gap with the Denver Nuggets. So it's a major loss, but this is the opportunity to see what everybody else is gonna do and how everybody else is gonna step up."

It's a sad for me, because this is my favorite player to watch."

Tracy McGrady and the NBA Showtime crew discuss Nikola Jokic's injury and how the Nuggets will proceed without the 3-time MVP. pic.twitter.com/Cd4JYsFjNg
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) December 31, 2025

Nikola Jokic's Injury Allows Other Players to Step Up

You certainly can't replace the impact that Jokic brings on the floor for whatever stretch of time he ends up missing. What it does allow for, though, is other pieces on the roster to step up in a major way when Denver needs it most.

Jamal Murray now becomes the unquestioned number one option offensively. Peyton Watson, for the time being, might just be the second best player and best two-way wing on the floor for the Nuggets, and others like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas immediately become way more pivotal pieces on the offensive end as well.

Dec 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) celebrates with guard Peyton Watson (8) in the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Once others like Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun come back into the lineup from injury while Jokic is sidelined, their presence will become exponentially more valuable to help fill the massive void left, but that might not be for another couple of weeks. That leaves Denver' deeper rotational players with a big assignment on their hands.

So for now, David Adelman and the Nuggets will have to get creative with their rotations and offensive sets to help Denver stay afloat until closer to the All-Star Break.

Nikola Jokic's Injury Allows Other Players to Step Up

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