In August two years ago, Vlatko Cancar ran for a transition dunk against Greece in Slovenia’s World Cup Qualifiers. An awkward landing on his left knee immediately left him on the floor. There was immense pain for the Nuggets forward, who after an MRI was diagnosed with an ACL tear. It took away an entire season. And as he slowly began to recoup and involve himself in the franchise, a mirror image of the same happened again.

Murray passed the ball on the perimeter to an approaching Cancar. The 6’7″ versatile forward went crashing to the rim, not challenged by any Grizzlies defender. The slam woke up the entire arena, but just seconds later doom set in. Cancar held on the same left knee and limped his way to the sideline. The fear seemed present in both him and Malone, who called an immediate timeout to assess the injury.

Due to the injury being on the same leg and just over a year removed from an ACL tear, concerns began to ramp up. The 27-year-old went to the locker room with the help of assistance and the Nuggets announced he wouldn’t return to play. Due to the absence of Nikola Jokic, Cancar was able to slide right into Malone’s rotations.

“He’s a playmaker. He can be a backup 1, 2, 3 and four. Five at sometimes. So I just love his versatility and his skillset,” Malone only said a few days ago. It was all evident in his 11 minutes on the floor. Vlatko Cancar compiled 5 points and 4 rebounds, even showing his distance shooting abilities.

Nuggets fans rally to pray for Vlatko Cancar

Everything went well for the Nuggets tonight. They held a 15-point advantage without the Joker in their NBA Cup game against Memphis. But Cancar’s injury made the air a little tense. Nuggets fans felt it could be a repeat of his prior ACL injury. “Vlatko Cancar is just 15 months removed from ACL reconstruction. Hope that knee injury isn’t as bad as it looked. Damn,” one reaction read.

Returning from an ACL injury has the potential to derail a player’s career in major ways. It’s worse in cases when such a major ailment occurs in such a short time. Thankfully, for the 27 year old it isn’t as serious as perceived. The Nuggets announced he has suffered from a “left knee sprain,”. 

Still, while the update still circulates, the concern among fans grew. The road to his recovery was long, and they didn’t want the Slovenian forward to have suffered another long-term injury. “REALLY hope this isn’t anything serious for Cancar. His first explosive we’ve seen from him this year,” one fan wrote.

Before the injury, Michael Malone used Cancar regularly in his rotations. Before his grueling ACL tear, he averaged a career-high 14.8 minutes in 2023, averaging 5 points on close to 38% shooting from distance. His fluidity in slotting into any position made him a valuable component for Malone.

Given his sorry, there was only one hope from Denver fans. “Feel so bad for him. Praying he’s okay,” was the sentiment regarding Vlatko Cancar’s incident. The diagnosis seems to have put him out of any danger zone. Still, his recovery will need to be intricate.

The 2017 second-round pick had only just begun ramping up his minutes and getting comfortable playing in high-intensity game situations. Michael Malone looked pleased with his progress. But because the injury has occurred on the same leg, his rehab might require an extended period of time.

Cancar has had a string of injuries since the ACL tear a year ago. Before tonight, he also dealt with ankle injuries and had just begun getting comfortable playing good minutes for the Nuggets. Hence, Nuggets fans resorted to whatever it took to send their positivity. “Please God let @VlatkoCancar be okay!!!” a fan wrote.

While the injury isn’t as bad as the scare, Malone is posed with more troubles. Already without Nikola Jokic, the revered head coach required as much as depth at his disposal as possible. Obviously, such thoughts won’t run on his mind in the wake of Cancar’s ailment. But for the Nuggets, it’s a big blow until the Serbian makes his return.