Take your time, Joker.
Wait a sec. Did we say that out loud? Much less think it?
We did. The Nuggets went 3-0 last Sunday-Friday, with two of those wins coming on the road. Denver is 6-3 since center Nikola Jokic was shelved with a freak knee injury at Miami on Dec. 29.
As of Friday night, Jokic had missed the last nine of the Nuggets’ 41 games. Here’s why that math matters: In order to be eligible for NBA MVP or all-league honors, a player has to appear in at least 65 of his team’s 82 contests.
So the margin for error on that front is going to get a lot thinner this week. And the Nuggets and the Joker are going to have some serious decisions to make — for the franchise and for the player.
Now don’t get us wrong: The kids on the Grading The Week crew are still sore about the Joker losing out on last year’s MVP award, despite posting a season-long triple-double and cranking out one of the single-best statistical campaigns in NBA history.
But we’d also hate to see the best player in the NBA and the most critical piece to the Nuggets’ championship puzzle get rushed or compromised in any way. It’s an individual sport, and no individual on the planet can do what the Joker does.
It’s a team sport, too — a team that plays in arguably the best playoff in North America and in, unquestionably, the toughest conference in the NBA. Jokic is a Hall-of-Famer and a legend whether he wins another MVP award or not. But championships, titles, are harder. Trickier. Those windows close quicker. Parades are glorious, beautiful and fleeting.
Jokic has been a literal stallion when it comes to availability, even in those years when he was often carrying a beat-up Nuggets roster largely by himself. The Big Honey’s appeared in at least 70 games over each of his first 10 seasons in the league. Jokic’s never been a “load management” guy. Through good times or bad, bumps and bruises, the man’s shown up.
The Jokerless Nuggets’ hot streak — A
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported a few days back that the Joker’s timetable was moving “ahead” of schedule, and that the Nuggets are “optimistic” that Jokic could resume playing by the end of the month.
Although here’s the weird, ironic thing about the Nuggets’ opening fortnight of 2026. The Joker was the hands-down favorite to win every individual honor in sight before he got dinged, averaging 29.6 points per game and still leading the NBA in rebounding average (12.2) and assists per game (11.0) as of late last night. But while an extended absence has put his award eligibility into the blender, while he’s been gone, the Nuggets have gotten … nasty. If anything, they’ve looked more like a title contender, and looked more dangerous, the longer he’s been away.
Related Articles
Keeler: If Broncos’ Jarrett Stidham can be steady as Marvin Mims, Denver will be OK Keeler: How can Broncos beat Josh Allen? Make Bills QB be Peyton Manning, not John Elway Keeler: CU Buffs transfer could be good for Jordan Seaton. It’s bad look for Deion Sanders Keeler: Broncos disrespect is officially historic now. Time for Sean Payton to pull out receipts Do Broncos own advantage over Bills because of week off?The Joker-less Nuggets beat Milwaukee at home. The Bench Mob carried them against the Sixers. They won at Toronto, Boston, New Orleans and Dallas.
From last Sunday through to Friday, Jamal Murray averaged 34 points and seven assists while making his best-ever case to land an overdue All-Star nod. Aaron Gordon, Mr. Nugget, returned, averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 rebounds while calming the waters. Meanwhile, young wing Peyton Watson (22.7 points, 6.7 boards, 4.3 dimes) and guard Jalen Pickett (12.7 points, 3.3 assists) have been absolute revelations. Mix in steady vets such as Tim Hardway Jr. (18.3 ppg last week) and Bruce Brown (6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg); and scrappy minutes from Zeke Nnaji (6.0 boards per game) and Spencer Jones, and you wonder if the Nuggets will have enough basketballs to go around once everybody finally gets healthy.
Which is a heck of a problem to have. A great problem. Especially when you’re trying to rain on the Thunder’s parade.
And why, if it wasn’t for the 65-game rule, you’d ordinarily be happy for the Joker to ease back into the swing of things. Then again, since when has anything when it comes to Jokic ever been ordinary?
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.
Hence then, the article about grading the week with nuggets playing this well is it worth rushing nikola jokic back for nba mvp chase was published today ( ) and is available on The Denver Post ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Grading The Week: With Nuggets playing this well, is it worth rushing Nikola Jokic back for NBA MVP chase? )
Also on site :