Nuggets' Nikola Jokic Feeling 'Great' After COVID-19 Diagnosis, Says Mike Malone

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic continues to recover from COVID-19 overseas, though the Nuggets expect he'll join them in Orlando soon enough for the NBA restart.   

"Nikola feels great," Denver head coach Michael Malone told reporters Wednesday (h/t ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk). "We are working on getting him back here. Next Tuesday we depart for Orlando; the hope and expectation is that Nikola Jokic will be with us on that plane. From everything that I have heard and talked to him, he feels great, he feels fine and is excited to get back."

Youngmisuk notes Jokic, who is currently at home in Serbia, will need to test negative for the virus twice within 24 hours before he'll be allowed to travel to the United States. 

The coronavirus has infected a number of undisclosed Nuggets employees, leading the team to shut down team facilities to limit the spread.

Malone agreed with that decision:

"We felt it was the right thing to do. Today was supposed to be the first day of Phase 3 where all our players were required to be back in the gym and we are allowed to work with them albeit just 1-on-0. We have put the safety of our team ahead of this Phase 3. There is a chance we can open the gym up before we leave, depending upon results in the coming days. I am not going to get into who tested but we have had multiple people in our travel party test positive."

Denver expects to enter the restart as one of a handful of true title contenders when play resumes in late July. 

When the league went on hiatus on March 11, the Nuggets were 43-22 and in third place in the Western Conference, just seven games back of the first-place Los Angeles Lakers. 

A big part of that has been Jokic. The 24-year-old is in the midst of arguably his best season yet, averaging 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. 

Assuming he gets cleared to return to the Nuggets, there's a chance he could provide a much different look  for the club. Listed at 7'0", 253 pounds, Jokic reportedly lost a significant amount of weight during the hiatus.

The big man is the key to Denver's success either way. As long as he's healthy, that's all the club will care about.