Kevin Durant Sends Sincere Message to Nikola Jokic After Knee Injury

The Denver Nuggets' biggest nightmare came to life when three-time MVP Nikola Jokic went down with a scary knee injury. Fortunately, Jokic avoided any serious injury, as he was diagnosed with a hyperextension that is expected to sideline him for four weeks.

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant certainly winced when Jokic went down with a knee injury, as the superstar forward has had all too much experience with those types of scares.

After the Rockets' win on Thursday, Durant commented on Jokic's knee injury.

"One thing I don't want to see with Nikola is like, they started calling me 'injury prone' after that, but hopefully they don't start with him because it's one of those freak injuries that you can't really control," Durant said on Thursday, via ESPN. "You can do all the work you can, but somebody falls into your knee, that's just tough."

Dec 1, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the first half at Footprint Center. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Nuggets and Jokic catch a break

The Nuggets caught a huge break when they learned that there was no ligament damage from Jokic's knee injury, as a month-long absence is honestly a favorable scenario compared to what could have been.

"So it's good to see it's only four weeks and it's not anything too big," Durant said. "It wasn't an MCL sprain or Level 2, it felt like it was just a tweak and he's going to be back out there soon. He's great for the game and you want to see the best players on the floor at all times."

Still, the Nuggets will certainly feel the consequences of his injury, especially now that backup center Jonas Valanciunas is also expected to miss the next four weeks. The Nuggets will undoubtedly struggle with these injuries, but as long as they get Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back on the floor soon, and Jamal Murray stays healthy, then they should be able to stay afloat.

Nikola Jokić hangs on to No. 1, but is a change at the top imminent?@Powell2dapeople breaks down the state of the race in the latest Kia MVP Ladder on the NBA App!

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Jokic has never missed more than 13 games in a season in his career, with this hyperextension expected to cause his longest absence yet. And, it has come at a poor time. Jokic is having not only the best season of his career, but one of the best seasons the league has ever seen. Durant certainly respects what Jokic has done for the game, and like many NBA fans, is disappointed to see him injured.

Nuggets and Jokic catch a break

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