The Denver Nuggets will once again be without three of their players tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. 

Christian Braun (Left Ankle Sprain), Aaron Gordon (Right Hamstring Strain) and Julian Strawther (Lower Back Management) have all been listed as out. Braun has not played since Nov. 12 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Gordon not since Nov. 21 against the Houston Rockets and Strawther not since Nov. 15 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

On a more positive note for Denver, however, they should have their three-time MVP in Nikola Jokić (Left Wrist Sprain) out on the court tonight, as he is listed as probable to suit up against Dallas, per the Nuggets’ most recent team injury report. 

Jokić has yet to miss a game this season, having played in all 19 of Denver’s contests thus far. The seven-time all-star has served as the Nuggets’ guiding light all campaign, and the fact that he has not missed any time and is still putting up the numbers he is on a nightly basis is nothing short of remarkable.  

Jokić is averaging 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game this season. If he is able to keep up these numbers throughout the entire 2025-26 campaign, it will mark the second time in his career that he has averaged a triple-double. 

This season, Jokić has already tallied 10 triple-doubles and has come an assist or rebound here or there shy of several more. Two nights ago, in fact, in the Nuggets’ 130-112 win over the Phoenix Suns, he was just one rebound away from making it 11 triple-doubles in 19 games, as he put together a stat line of 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.  

How Can the Nuggets Sustain Their Current Model?

The question that will continue to permeate Denver’s locker room now is how long can Jokić keep this up? Can the Nuggets continue to lean on their superstar as they have and at the pace at which they have to begin the new season? 

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Denver can continue to win games if Jokić happens to have a poor outing one of these nights. Is it a sustainable model to continually rely on their perennial MVP candidate, who has already played in every game as it is?

Luckily for the Nuggets, other players like Jamal Murray and more recently Cameron Johnson have helped take some of the load off of Jokić amidst this injury-ridden stretch of the young season, not to mention the efforts from players who would not normally find themselves in the starting lineup like Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. 

The Nuggets and Mavericks tip-off at 9 p.m. EST tonight in Ball Arena.