After already losing Bruce Brown in free agency this offseason, the Denver Nuggets have lost another key bench player to an unfortunate injury.
Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar injured his knee during an exhibition game Friday ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Playing for his native Slovenia in their contest against Greece, Cancar threw down a transition dunk in the fourth quarter but landed awkwardly on his left knee. Cancar immediately clutched the knee in pain and eventually had to be helped off the floor by the medical staff.
Here is the video of Cancar’s injury.
Nuggets beat writer Mike Singer of the Denver Post confirmed the worst-case scenario on Saturday—that Cancar had suffered a torn left ACL on the play. Singer adds that there is no timetable for Cancar to undergo surgery at the moment.
The 26-year-old Cancar provided some juice last season for the Nuggets. Over 60 regular season appearances, Cancar shot 37.4 percent from deep and was a vigorous second-unit contributor with his length at 6-foot-8 and his energetic play. While Cancar was not much of a factor during Denver’s playoff run (culminating with their first championship in franchise history), he likely would have played a bigger role for the Nuggets next season with Brown leaving for the Indiana Pacers.
There was another big injury scare earlier in the Slovenia-Greece exhibition too, albeit one that ended up being nothing more than a scare. Cancar was not as fortunate however and now may not play again until the 2024-25 NBA season, depending on his recovery process.
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