The Denver Nuggets have faced injury problems throughout the 2025-26 season. But all teams will know that what matters most is having a clean bill of health at the end of the season. And on Friday night, they're one step closer to being fully healthy as a unit.
With a clash against the New York Knicks on the horizon, the Nuggets will welcome back Aaron Gordon from a 17-game absence while he dealt with a hamstring injury, ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel reports.
Gordon has been dealing with hamstring issues since the 2025 NBA Playoffs, when he suffered a Grade 2 strain, which put his status in doubt for Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs. The Nuggets forwards played through it, but Denver lost emphatically.
Those problems have carried over to this season. In addition to his recent 17-game absence, he also missed the first 19 straight games of the season from mid-November to early January. Overall, Gordon has only played in 23 of the Nuggets' 63 games this season.
Denver will be very cautious with its prized forward, as it's hard to imagine reaching the playoffs without his services. How important he is to this team.
Nuggets will assess Aaron Gordon's status in Knicks clash
Gordon's workload will certainly be monitored on Friday night, and the Nuggets are unlikely to push him into the deep end, especially with over a month left in the regular season.
The Nuggets will be without Peyton Watson and Cam Johnson for their showdown against the Knicks, and those two players will be expected to contribute big times in their final playoff appearance. Denver has to be careful with these things, especially when soft-tissue injuries tend to recur.
