The Denver Nuggets head into the 2025-26 season with familiar aspirations: a 50-plus win campaign, Nikola Jokić in MVP form, and another deep postseason run. It’s become the new normal in Denver, sustained excellence underpinned by one of the league’s most unique superstars. But after an offseason where the Nuggets retooled their rotation, bolstered their bench, and reasserted their identity as a franchise built around continuity and intelligence, this year carries a slightly different tone.

The hottest prediction surrounding the Mile High City this season is that the Denver Nuggets will either top the Western Conference or finish narrowly behind the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. After years of floating in the upper-middle tier of the standings, Denver finally looks poised to reclaim its place atop the West, proving that championship windows don’t have to close; they can simply reshape.

A rebuilt depth chart is ready to compete

If there was one major flaw in the Nuggets’ 2024-25 campaign, it wasn’t the play of Jokić or Jamal Murray; it was the lack of consistent help when they weren’t on the floor. The result was a 50-32 finish that felt solid on paper but frustrating in execution. They were a good team that looked occasionally gassed and thin when the stakes rose.

This summer, the interim general manager Ben Tenzer and the Nuggets’ front office set out to fix that. They did so without blowing up the core, but by carefully layering experience, shooting, and versatility into the second unit. The additions of Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valančiūnas all speak to one thing: Denver’s pursuit of depth.

Johnson’s perimeter shooting provides an ideal complement to Denver’s motion-heavy offense. Brown’s return brings back the defensive edge and downhill aggression that defined their 2023 championship run. Hardaway Jr. offers scoring punch off the bench, a luxury they sorely lacked last year. And Valančiūnas gives them something they haven’t had in years: a legitimate big-man backup capable of surviving the physicality of Western frontcourts without the offensive drop-off that plagued their non-Jokić minutes.

It’s rare for a team that’s already elite to improve in such a balanced way, but Denver’s bench rotation now looks as equipped as any in the league. That’s what makes the “top of the West” prediction feel not only bold but plausible.

Nikola Jokić’s next evolution: The MVP who still gets better

It feels redundant to say Nikola Jokić is going to have another MVP-caliber season; he always does. But what separates 2025-26 from his previous campaigns is the way the Nuggets have built around his endurance and adaptability. Jokić doesn’t need to be the league’s scoring leader; he just needs to control the game.

With added shooting around him, spacing becomes even more lethal. With Valančiūnas available to absorb minutes, Jokić can rest more strategically.

And with a reenergized Bruce Brown cutting and creating in second-unit stretches, David Adelman can experiment more freely without fear of total offensive stagnation. The Nuggets’ offense, already top-five by most metrics last season, could push even higher.

But the real evolution could come defensively. If Johnson and Brown shore up the perimeter, it gives Jokić more freedom to operate as a help-side disruptor rather than a sole last line of defense.

That dynamic, Jokić not just leading, but orchestrating both sides of the ball, could be what pushes Denver to the top of the Western Conference. When he’s at his best, no other player in the NBA manipulates the flow of the game like he does. And now, with a deeper team behind him, he won’t need to exhaust himself to keep Denver competitive. Instead, he can dictate the pace, rest strategically, and ramp up when it matters most.

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The Western Conference showdown: Denver vs. OKC

Of course, no bold prediction comes without its primary antagonist. The reigning champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, remain the biggest obstacle between the Nuggets and a top seed. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entering his prime, Chet Holmgren developing into a defensive monster, and Jalen Williams ascending as a legitimate All-Star, OKC has the kind of youth-fueled dominance that few teams can match.

But experience still matters. Denver’s core has been through the wars, playoff heartbreaks, championship highs, and the grind of sustaining greatness. The Thunder, for all their talent, are still learning how to carry the weight of expectations. That’s where the Nuggets’ consistency gives them an edge.

When Denver and OKC clash this season, it won’t just be a battle for playoff seeding; it’ll be a philosophical duel between eras. The Nuggets’ championship-tested system against the Thunder’s ascendant wave of youth and speed. And in that clash, Denver’s continuity and execution could win out.

If Jokić remains healthy, and if Murray returns to the two-way rhythm that defined his best stretches, there’s every reason to believe Denver could finish first in the West, or, at worst, trail OKC by a game or two.

For the Nuggets, that’s not just symbolic positioning; it’s strategic. Securing home-court advantage through the early rounds could make all the difference in a loaded Western bracket that features the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Mavericks waiting for their own chance to upset the balance. Denver has the tools, the maturity, and the star power to make that happen.

From contender to favorite again

Bold predictions are meant to be daring but grounded in logic, and this one fits the mold perfectly. The Denver Nuggets, after a year of reevaluation, now stand as one of the most balanced rosters in the NBA. They’re deeper, sharper, and arguably hungrier than they were during their 2023 title run.

The Denver Nuggets are back to remind everyone that their championship window isn’t closing, it’s wide open, and they’re ready to reclaim the top of the mountain.