NBA Legend Tracy McGrady Has Touching Reaction to Nikola Jokic's Injury

Already down three starters, the Denver Nuggets' nightmare scenario came true on Monday night. Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic went down with a scary knee injury, and on Tuesday morning, he was diagnosed with a hyperextension in his left knee that is expected to sideline him for at least the next four weeks.

On a personal level, this will likely take Jokic out of the MVP race and All-NBA pool due to the 65-game threshold, but in the bigger picture, this will impact the entire league. The best player in the world going out for at least a month is devastating, not only for the Nuggets but for NBA fans alike.

NBA legend Tracy McGrady reacted to the Jokic injury news, and he is feeling the same as many fans across the league, but especially in Denver.

"It's a sad day for me, because this is my favorite player to watch," McGrady said. "If I pay money to watch a player, I'm paying money to watch Jokic, because he's that phenomenal as a basketball player."

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

The impact of Jokic's injury

Jokic was the frontrunner for MVP before the injury, tracking to win the fourth of his 12-year career, but the Nuggets are very lucky things are not worse. Jokic, fortunately, avoided any serious damage, as a four-week absence is the best-case scenario on the grand scheme of things. Still, this is a devastating blow for the Nuggets.

"This is a devastating blow to their team because you're talking about the frontrunner for MVP, without three of their starters already, and you're missing him, now it's gonna put pressure on Jamal Murray to do a little more to keep them afloat," McGrady continued. "...I can see this team dropping four of five slots because of where they're at in the standings and the teams that are behind them will gain some ground."

Apr 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during overtime against the LA Clippers at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

While this was horrible for the Nuggets, on the bright side, this was the best possible season for this to happen. Denver's offseason moves gave the team extra depth, especially at the center position by adding Jonas Valanciunas. Once Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun return from injury, this Nuggets team could actually be built to stay competitive without Jokic.

It will suck for all NBA fans to not witness greatness every night while Jokic is out, as McGrady expresses, but not all hope is lost for Denver.

The impact of Jokic's injury

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