Julian Strawther’s fourth NBA season for the Denver Nuggets is kicking off with some truly rough news. The wing, a sharpshooter out of Gonzaga, suffered a left knee sprain during Wednesday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers. An MRI confirmed the injury the very next day, and now he won’t be re-evaluated for six weeks. This means his 2026-27 debut likely isn’t happening until sometime in December.
Knee Sprain Sidelines Sharpshooter
Man, talk about a brutal start to the year for Strawther and the Nuggets. That Wednesday game against the Clippers saw him go down, and the MRI on Thursday just confirmed what everyone feared: a left knee sprain. This isn’t just a minor bump, either. Six weeks until re-evaluation means we won’t see him on the court until December, pushing back the debut of a guy who averaged 7.2 points on a career-high 46.7 field goal percentage and a solid 38.7 three-point percentage across 57 games last season. That’s a significant chunk of early season action he’s missing.
Bench Depth Taking a Hit
This injury stings even more for Denver because they are already walking into the season opener looking pretty thin, especially with bench support and three-point shooting. Losing a key perimeter player like Strawther, who can stretch the floor, just amplifies those concerns right off the bat. The Nuggets are set to tip off their season on October 22 against center Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center, and they’ll have to do it without that reliable scoring punch. Plus, the highly anticipated pairing of Strawther out on the perimeter with the newest Nugget, point guard Ryan Nembhard, will have to wait. Nembhard, a former Zag himself, signed a two-way deal as an unrestricted free agent at the end of September. Fans were hyped to see those two connect early, and now we gotta hit pause.
So, the Nuggets are heading into the season with a serious test right away against the Thunder, and they’ll be doing it without Strawther. Every minute he’s out means more pressure on an already limited bench. Hopefully, that six-week re-evaluation brings some good news, and we can see the Gonzaga product back on the court bringing that scoring spark sometime in December. It’s a long season, but this is a tough way to start.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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