Dec 26, 2025
3 min read
Cam Johnson injured his right knee during the Nuggets' loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday before the Christmas Day game in Denver.
It's already etched into Nuggets lore three years later, an image inseparable from Christmas basketball.It remains a disgrace to the 2022 Phoenix Suns, including Cam Johnson.
He could only watch in amazement as Aaron Gordon sent Landry Shamet off.Johnson was Shamet's teammate at the time, not Gordon.It was the final year of his rookie deal with Phoenix, and he was sidelined with a right meniscus injury, but was still with the team.Johnson recalls: "I had knee surgery at the beginning of November, so I was on my way back.
Oh he was there.No soul in the ball arena that night will ever forget it.With 27 seconds left in overtime and the Nuggets holding a 124-123 lead, Gordon slowed down the ball and refused to force Phoenix to commit a foul.Instead, he completed a one-man fastbreak, leaping over Shamet and representing the biggest dunk of a big man's career.Dunker, a true Christmas baptism.
What does Johnson remember from his glasses?
"Well, I remember Landry Shamet making a huge play," he told the Denver Post on Monday.But I knew (it wasn't). I knew it was a wicked way to end the game...crazy."
Now a nugget, Johnson hopes to replace this Christmas memory with new ones in the same building this year — to play during the holidays.Instead, in a horrific twist of fate, he took a knee and went down on Tuesday during Denver's final game before Christmas.
Wednesday's MRI results revealed the best case scenario: no structural damage, no torn ligaments.Just a bone bruise, a league source confirmed to the Denver Post.
The team has not yet announced an estimated return time.But it is still possible that the knee injury will force Johnson to miss games.While the Nuggets (21-8) are preparing to host the Timberwolves on Christmas (MT, ABC / ESPN) in the NBA finals of five games, the injury struck again.
The previous two starters that have been out all month are Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown, both of whom could return after the break for the team's seven-game road trip.Johnson has been a big factor in holding down the defense.After a slow start to the season, he turned corner in mid-November.He is shooting 52.3% from the 3-point line in his last 17 games.
In the locker room after Monday's win over Utah, he was given the proverbial ugly Christmas T-shirt with animated versions of himself and Brown.He suggested he might wear it to the Ball Arena on Thursday as his pre-tunnel uniform.He was feeling the holiday spirit.“It was the season, until he left the field in Dallas.
Tim Hardaway Jr. now appears likely to enter Denver's starting lineup at small forward, joining Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones as injury replacements.
"In my household, (Christmas was) waking up, exchanging gifts, eating breakfast, going to Grandma's house and basketball games all day," Johnson said Monday."All day, watching the NBA. So to actually be like that, to play there, to know that you're playing for people who have the same traditions, is pretty special and definitely something that I cherish."
Most NBA players and coaches agree, despite the obvious side effect of turning Christmas into a work day for top teams.This is the fourth consecutive year the league has deemed it important enough to play on the holiday, and the third time in four years that Ball Arena has hosted it.
"I think it's really cool," said first-year coach David Adelman."Like when I was growing up. My dad (coached) in Sacramento, and Sacramento was out of sight, out of mind for years. Like nobody knew what was going on with the Kings. Then all of a sudden they're against the Lakers, the Mavs every Christmas. It's a sign of respect. And it's a sign of respect for us over the years."
The Nuggets led Minnesota 2-0 in the season series.Both wins took place at Target Center.This will be the Timberwolves' first visit to Denver since April's overtime classic, when Nikola Jokic recorded the first triple-double in league history with 60 points in a loss.His epic stat line was squandered when Russell Westbrook hit Minnesota's Nikhil Alexander-Walker with a buzzer-beater.
The Nuggets are still losing five of their last six home games to Minnesota, which is set to begin its second series in 2024.
Now they will work to reverse that trend despite limited help from Jokic and Jamal Murray.
"It's always great to play on Christmas Day," Nuggets guard Bruce Brown said.
Want more Nuggets news?Sign up for Nuggets Insider to receive all our NBA analysis.
