The Denver Nuggets will further evaluate the injured left ankle of star center Nikola Jokic on Friday, according to ESPN.
Further evaluation on left ankle of Denver's Nikola Jokic set for Friday, but there's cautious optimism that injury is no more than a sprain, league source tells ESPN. X-rays negative.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 1, 2017
The Nuggets are cautiously optimistic that Jokic’s ankle injury is nothing more than a sprain and it seems likely that the reason they are waiting until Friday for a further diagnosis is to allow time for the swelling to recede to gain a better perspective and understanding on the degree of the injury.
Jokic appeared to have rolled his ankle with under a minute left to play in the first half of the Nuggets 111-110 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Jokic immediately fell to the floor and began grabbing his leg in agony. Here is how Jokic hurt his ankle:
#Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic rolled his ankle and went right to the locker room after shooting his free throws…. pic.twitter.com/N52B76uYz6
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 1, 2017
Jokic was fouled on the play and — thanks to the quick thinking of Richard Jefferson — proceeded to make two free throws before exiting the game to give him a chance to return and to not allow the Bulls to decide who would shoot in his place. Eventually, Jokic would not return and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Jokic was seen leaving the X-ray room with no shoe on the injured foot and in noticeable pain/discomfort. Thankfully, it seems that his ankle injury could have been much worse and his X-ray was negative. Now, all that remains is for Jokic to get an MRI but it seems the Nuggets could have dodged a potentially season-debilitating injury.
