Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson exited Sunday’s loss to Minnesota early due to an ongoing right ankle issue and does not expect to play in Monday’s matchup against Utah, according to Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Johnson endured a difficult outing against the Timberwolves, finishing scoreless in 23 minutes while missing all six of his shot attempts.
Benedetto adds that Johnson has been in a shooting slump since the All-Star break, connecting on just 31.4% of his field goals and 26.7% of his three-point attempts across six games.
“One (part) is understanding that you’ve been through it before,” Johnson said. “(It’s) understanding that every time that you’ve felt down that you don’t really feel like you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel – you just feel like you keep letting yourself down, letting your teammates down – every time that’s happened, I’ve been able to turn it around and get back on track some way somehow.”
Johnson was brought in from Brooklyn last summer with expectations that he could smoothly fill the role previously held by Michael Porter Jr.
After an uneven start to the season, he rediscovered his shooting rhythm during November and December before a bone bruise suffered shortly before Christmas sidelined him for roughly six weeks.
For now, Johnson’s main focus is addressing the ankle discomfort that he says has lingered throughout the season. He plans to experiment with different footwear and orthotics in hopes of reducing the pain and improving his mobility.
“It hasn’t knocked me out of the game completely yet. It hasn’t forced me to hang it up. It hasn’t forced me to miss every shot for the rest of my career,” Johnson said. “I just got to continue on with that trust, continue to work and forget about it.”
It's been a rough patch for the Nuggets' Cameron Johnson: https://t.co/OIVwMBUq7L pic.twitter.com/QmQnd8JTA5
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 2, 2026
