DENVER — Good news for Nuggets Nation: Their beloved Joker is not out with an ACL tear; but he is sidelined with a hyperextended left knee.
This all happened on Monday night's matchup, where Nikola Jokić fell on the hardwood, holding his knee in immense pain. On Tuesday, the team announced Jokić was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee and would be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Dr. Forrest Anderson, orthopedic specialist at HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, explained that this is a common injury for basketball players, as Nuggets player Cam Johnson currently has the same injury.
"Basically, it's the kind of thing where you know that Nikola's injury happened with about three seconds left in the second quarter," explained Anderson. "So when you get to the end of a half, end of a game, athletes — the muscles are kind of tired and can't really protect the bones, joints, and ligaments like they're supposed to be doing. Things like this kind of happen where basically Nikola's knee hyperextended because his quadricep was tired and obviously he got stepped on, which he didn't see coming and wasn't prepared for."
While fans are eagerly waiting to see the return of the three-time MVP, Anderson explains the importance of focusing on recovery and bouncing back stronger than before.
"This is his full-time job now: rehabbing as opposed to playing. So basically resting and staying off of it, not doing any athletic activities for the first week or two. Going in to see the physiotherapists every day basically, and working a lot on that," Anderson said. "It's not the kind of thing that needs surgery, obviously a cast, a brace really, but mostly just some rest and letting the knee heal."
Young talent was on full display Tuesday morning at the Gold Crown Foundation with a camp being put on by USA basketball. Bill Hanzlik, CEO of the Gold Crown Foundation and former Denver Nugget, expressed the outstanding talent Jokić brings to the Mile High.
"Joker is not only incredible on the court. Off the court — how he is a person in the locker room, the whole package. Any coach would love to have that guy," Hazlik said.
While no one expected to see this injury, Hazlik said you pray it is not the worst-case scenario, as this is an unfortunate reality when playing sports.
A similar sentiment was also shared by Vic Lombardi, Altitude TV reporter and host, who recalled the moment he saw Joker get injured.
"I've seen Joker go down, but when I saw him go down and he's sitting there, just recoiled, holding his leg in obvious pain, and then barely hobbling off the court — you knew it was something bigger and more important," Lombardi said.
Nuggets Nation dodged their worst nightmare, a season-ending injury to their franchise player. Now with their MVP out, Lombardi believes other talent could step up to keep the team's playoff push alive.
"There are going to be some players on this team who are like, 'All right, this is my chance to prove it. This is my chance to prove that we're more than just a one-man team' and never underestimate that kind of motivation," Lombardi said. "Again, there are going to be some guys; Jonas Valanciunas is the backup center. He has been a starting center in the NBA. It's not like they're going to go with somebody that doesn't have the experience."
