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          Sources: Nuggets' Nikola Jokic (knee) to return vs. Clippers

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          Nikola Jokic goes down with a knee injury (0:41)

          Nikola Jokic goes down hard and limps off to the Nuggets' locker room at the end of the first half vs. the Heat. (0:41)

          • Shams CharaniaJan 30, 2026, 07:16 PM
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              Shams Charania is a senior NBA insider for ESPN. Charania reports NBA news and information across ESPN platforms and also contributes to ESPN's exclusive coverage of the NBA draft. Charania has previously worked for FanDuel TV, Stadium, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, RealGM and ChicagoNow. He is a Chicago native and graduated from Loyola University in 2017.

          Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic plans to return to action Friday night against the LA Clippers at home after being sidelined since Dec. 29 with a bone bruise in his hyperextended left knee, sources told ESPN.

          Jokic is officially listed as questionable for the game.

          Jokic is also set to play in Sunday's showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Denver and be eligible for season awards such as MVP and All-NBA.

          The 6-foot-11 star center got hurt in the first half of Denver's loss to the Miami Heat back in December. Before that, he was ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring at 29.6 points per game. He also has 16 triple-doubles this season, which leads the NBA.

          Jokic is also averaging career highs in APG (11.0) and three-point percentage (43%).

          The Nuggets went 10-6 in Jokic's absence over the past month-plus. Those 16 games are the most he has ever missed in any season of his career.