There are not any awards given out throughout the offseason, but when there have been, then the Denver Nuggets can be the frontrunner for the Most Improved Staff award. The Nuggets’ entrance workplace was on a heater to begin the offseason, offloading Michael Porter Jr. and his onerous contract to usher in Cam Johnson (costing them only a 2032 first-round choose), buying and selling away the washed-up Dario Saric in alternate for Jonas Valanciunas, they usually additionally fortified the bench by way of free company, most prominently with the addition of 2023 NBA champion Bruce Brown.
Contemplating the way it was the Nuggets that gave the reigning champion Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder the most important scare previous to the NBA Finals, including key items round their gifted quartet consisting of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun makes them one among, if not outright one of the best group within the NBA heading into the 2025-26 marketing campaign, no less than on paper.
Video games aren’t performed on paper, nonetheless, and the Nuggets will nonetheless need to combine these new items round Jokic. However Jokic makes everybody round him higher, and it is onerous to see the Nuggets being something aside from a high group within the league with how they fortified the lineup.
With that stated, listed here are a number of predictions for a way the 2025-26 marketing campaign will end up for the Nuggets after the NBA launched their schedule for subsequent season.
Nikola Jokic’s scoring common drops by almost 5 factors… however leads the league in assists
One may make an argument that this iteration of the Nuggets is one of the best its ever been round Jokic. They’ve a whole group, they usually even obtained Valanciunas to decide to taking part in for them after he flirted with the concept of taking his abilities abroad to play nearer to residence.
Jokic, in fact, stays the central drive binding this complete Nuggets roster collectively. They are going to solely go so far as he goes. However contemplating the expertise round him, there might not be as a lot want for him to dominate on the scoring entrance as he often does. In spite of everything, he prefers to make the unselfish play particularly when it results in profitable basketball, and he now has the expertise round him that ought to allow him to take a seat again, breathe extra simply, and simply ping the rock to open males.
Final season, Jokic averaged almost 30 factors per sport (29.6), as he wanted to choose up the slack amid Jamal Murray’s struggles to start the yr, Aaron Gordon’s harm issues, and the group’s basic lack of spacing. The Nuggets completed final season twenty eighth in three-point makes per sport, and with opposing defenses collapsing on the paint at almost each flip, Jokic’s scoring turned the last word bail-out weapon.
Jokic even ended up being the group’s third-best three-point weapon although he is at his finest when he is dominating the paint. He made almost two triples an evening final yr on a blistering 41.7 capturing.
However for the upcoming season, there may not be as a lot want for Jokic to area the ground and be extra aggressive in looking his three-point shot for the reason that group could have significantly better spacing contemplating the respect Gordon has garnered along with his three-point capturing throughout the playoffs and Johnson’s marksmanship.
Final yr, he had a utilization price of 29.5; with the additions up and down the roster, Jokic’s utilization price could find yourself hovering nearer to across the 27 p.c mark, which is the place it was throughout the Nuggets’ 2022-23 championship season. That yr, Jokic averaged 24.5 factors per sport on an astounding, league-leading true capturing 0f 70.1 — taking part in team-driven, unselfish, and environment friendly basketball befitting of a three-time MVP who arguably ought to have received the award extra occasions.
It is not going to be regarding in any respect if Jokic’s scoring common drops by round 5 factors. He’ll greater than make up for it anyway with a rise in scoring effectivity and playmaking output. Final yr, Jokic completed second within the league in whole assists with 716. He had 164 fewer assists than league-leader Trae Younger did.
Younger ought to, on paper, have a better time racking up assists as effectively since his group improved fairly a bit as effectively. However Jokic has achieved loads of unbelievable issues prior to now, and it is not an excessive amount of of a stretch to suppose that he can lead the league in assists particularly when the Nuggets are anticipated to click on with the deep roster they’ve constructed.
Jamal Murray makes the All-Star group
It stays some of the gorgeous details within the NBA that Jokic hasn’t had a teammate be chosen as an All-Star or an All-NBA participant. He has been teammates with a number of former All-Stars and even a former NBA MVP, however not on the peak of their powers.
That modifications subsequent yr with Murray.
Murray has had notoriously gradual begins to seasons; final yr, he was bothered by knee points courting again to the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it took him some time to spherical into type for the Nuggets. Murray averaged 18/4/6 on 42/33/79 splits within the first two months of the season, however from December onwards, he put up 22/4/6 on 49/41/92 splits.
With Jokic embracing (and loving) extra of a playmaking function for his group, the onus will likely be on Murray to mild it up and make the most of the additional area that will likely be accessible for him and the remainder of the group to assault. And this time, it does not seem to be an harm will likely be bothering Murray to begin the brand new season.
Anticipate him to have a blistering begin to the 2025-26 season, and with the Nuggets being among the best groups within the NBA subsequent yr, they are going to be one of some groups to have two All-Star representatives — with Murray becoming a member of his good pal Jokic in Los Angeles.
Nuggets earn 1-seed within the convention
With the Thunder residing in the identical convention (and division), it is all the time going to be troublesome for the Nuggets to earn the one-seed within the West. However there tends to be a hangover interval for championship-winning groups, and that is precisely what the Thunder will likely be experiencing.
In fact, this isn’t to say that the combat for the one-seed will likely be a cakewalk. However the Nuggets undoubtedly have an even bigger chip on their shoulder, particularly with a reloaded roster.
The Thunder will likely be hungry for extra rings, however they may err on the facet of warning extra typically, preferring to relaxation their guys way more openly to protect them for the playoffs. Whereas OKC has a deep group, this might result in extra defeats — paving the best way for Denver to win the regular-season standings within the superior convention.
DaRon Holmes II establishes himself as rotation piece for the Nuggets
On paper, one would suppose that the Nuggets will likely be working a 10-man rotation, with Valanciunas, Brown, and Hardaway becoming a member of Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther as the principle bench guys. However the Nuggets aren’t about to neglect their 2024 first-round choose in DaRon Holmes II, who missed the whole thing of what would have been his rookie marketing campaign after tearing his Achilles.
Holmes goes to have a brief leash at first, however he’ll rapidly endear himself to go coach David Adelman along with his motor, vitality, defensive versatility, and floor-spacing capabilities, and a frontcourt of him, Watson, and Valanciunas could have a lot dimension and physicality for opposing bench items to cope with.
He was one of many brilliant spots for the Nuggets throughout Summer time League and he seems to be more healthy than ever. Holmes is poised to make an impression subsequent yr, and Nuggets followers must be very excited for what he’ll carry to the desk.