Report: Nikola Jokic won’t win MVP, will miss at least another week

The Denver Nuggets will try again in a week with Nikola Jokic, ending his MVP hopes

Jan 27, 2026, 3:11 PM

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The Denver Nuggets said they would reevaluate Nikola Jokic in four weeks, and 28 days later, on Tuesday, ESPN reported that they’re going to try again in a week.

“The Nuggets will reevaluate Nikola Jokic in about a week. He is making great progress; he’s in the ramp-up phase of his return to play process,” Shams Charania said on NBA Today.

Jokic resumed on-court workouts and even warmed up before a game on the team’s recent roadtrip.

Jokic hasn’t played since hyperextending his knee on Dec. 29 in Miami. He bruised a bone in his knee. Tuesday marks the team’s 15th game without him; they’re 9-5 in his absence. He was initially given a four-week re-evaluation window.

David Adelman’s most recent comments expressed uncertainty, saying the big fella had been up and down.

The three-time MVP was the favorite to win a fourth such award, averaging a 30-point triple-double while leading the NBA in both rebounding and assists the last time he took the floor. He was voted an All-Star starter again, an event that will seemingly come right around his return date.

“This is a Nuggets team that is working together on weighing the long-term health over the season more than being eligible for postseason awards,” Charania said, adding his return is close. “This team has played so well without him.”

The Nuggets have missed way more than just Jokic. Cameron Johnson has missed this entire span of games. Both Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon came back from their lengthy injuries and got hurt again. Jonas Valanciunas went down in the game after Jokic’s injury and came back in the last game after missing a month. Then there’s Jamal Murray and Peyton Watson, who have each missed time recently too.

Valanciunas’ return gives the Nuggets much-needed relief up front, but Gordon’s injury, again to his hamstring, is extremely concerning. It’s all resulted in a ton being put on Murray, Watson and Tim Hardaway Jr.’s plates, who have done more than step up to carry the Nuggets during this challenging month.

Shams: "The Denver Nuggets will reevaluate Nikola Jokic in about a week. He is making great progress, he's in the ramp up phase of his return to play process" pic.twitter.com/QKp0M2SzII

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) January 27, 2026

What Nikola Jokic will miss this week

The Nuggets tip off a four-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting the league’s second-best team in the Detroit Pistons. Then they host Nuggets legend Michael Porter Jr.’s return, as the Brooklyn Nets come to town. They were one of the surprise teams that beat the Nuggets in this Jokerless stretch.

Things get going over the weekend with the NBA’s hottest team and playoff rival, the Los Angeles Clippers, who are in Denver on Friday. Followed by the first matchup of the season against the reigning NBA champions, and current best team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are in Denver on Friday.

Nikola Jokic out of MVP race, All-NBA streak snapped

By missing those four games, Jokic will have missed 18 on the season, meaning he can only play a maximum of 64. Even if he comes back next week and plays every single game, Big Honey will not be eligible to get any postseason honors, due to the NBA’s relatively new 65-game rule.

Jokic’s five-year run finishing first or second in MVP voting and seven-year streak as an All-NBA player will be snapped this season — despite playing the best basketball of his career until he went down.