There’s a sleeping giant in the Mile High City. While much of the NBA’s attention is on the young Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets have found something that has lain dormant since their title run in the 2022-23 season.
The year Denver won its first NBA championship in franchise history, it started the first 30 games 19-11. That team looked weak on the road and beatable against established contenders. Now, in 2025, Denver has compiled 22 wins across their first 31 games while battling through injuries to three of its starters.
Closing in on the halfway mark of the NBA season, the Nuggets have danced their way to winning over 70% of their games with a margin of victory of more than eight points a night. Even with starters Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson out until the new year, they’re bringing back an elevated energy of play and show no signs of slowing down.
Jokic and Murray Are a Dominant Duo
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić is inexorably getting better with age. He’s now averaging close to 30 points a game and leading the league in rebounds (12.1) and assists (11) per night.
He’s marvelously desensitized the glamour of a triple-double, but it’s truly what the Nuggets are building around him that makes this team feel different.
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Denver has seen firsthand what it’s like to correctly surround Jokić with players he can make better, and that starts with his right-hand man.
This year, Murray has turned his game up a notch. He’s up to 25.4 points and 50% shooting through the first 30 contests, while missing just one game. He’s been a scoring machine, dropping 52 points against the Indiana Pacers, 43 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and another seven nights of 30-plus. He came into training camp more rested than usual, and the early jump has shown.
He’s now integrating his clutch “Playoff Murray” persona into the early regular season, shooting 53% from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. He’s matured into Denver’s late-game dagger and has been dependable in the incipient months of November and December, unlike the past.
While Murray and Jokić are leading an efficient, methodical offensive attack, they’re seeing more support around the team than they have in years.
Nuggets’ Supporting Cast Stepping Up
After a busy offseason that saw an aggressive Denver team in free agency make a splash trade for Johnson, the Nuggets are playing with a new level of diligence. The signings of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas were designed to bring veteran support to Jokić.
With Gordon and Braun out of the lineup since mid-November, extra minutes have been given to Hardaway Jr., Peyton Watson and Bruce Brown, who’ve all quietly added to the team’s depth.
Denver reunited with Brown this offseason, who played a vital, kindling bench role in the 2022-23 title run. This Nuggets’ rotation now gives them a confident five players on the hardwood, no matter what, with a bench unit that’s averaging seven more points a night than last season’s.
Hardaway Jr. has been an X-factor from three. Watson’s defense and Valanciunas’ adept facilitating make for a well-oiled Nuggets’ attack. A 24-year-old Spencer Jones is starting games amid injuries in just his second season, tactically anchoring the team together with a +1.05 +/- when he’s on the floor.
All of this has given Denver the best offensive rating in the league; likewise, thanks to the delivery from newly-appointed head coach David Adelman.
David Adelman Leading the Charge
Adelman was the offensive coordinator under 10-year head coach Michael Malone, but took over after Malone’s termination with just three games left in the regular season last year. He took the Nuggets all the way to a Game 7 with the future NBA champs in his interim-playoffs. Now he’s had a full offseason with the team and is executing his offensive charisma.
Adelman prioritizes clean, turnover-free basketball over pushing pace. He’s decreased Denver’s turnover percentage from 2024-25 while shaping them into the most efficient scoring unit in basketball. Jokic pulling the puppet strings with Adelman’s coordinating scheme makes for a dangerous Denver offense, no matter who’s on the hardwood.
Nuggets’ National Recognition
“I would like the NBA fans, writ large, to please take a look and pay attention to what Nikola Jokić is doing right now,” NBA analyst Brian Windhorst said. “The Nuggets offensively are a juggernaut, Jamal Murray is in great shape and is playing well, [and] they’re tearing teams down.”
The Nuggets have a marathon until the NBA playoffs begin in April, handling a treacherous Western Conference that seemingly has five championship-tier teams. While Oklahoma City will likely secure the top seed in the conference, the Nuggets may be the best assembled team to take them down.
Denver begins the new year on a four-game road trip, including stops in Cleveland, Philadelphia, and a rematch in Brooklyn with Porter Jr.
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