The Denver Nuggets might have the NBA’s easiest schedule — and simultaneously one of the league’s toughest.
That’s the paradox that was revealed when the league dropped the 2025-26 slate on Thursday.
Statistically, Denver’s opponents combined for the league’s lowest winning percentage last season. But the details? Yikes.
The Nuggets are tied for the most back-to-backs in the league, have the most road back-to-backs, and are tied for the most three games in four days. They also share the lead in five games in seven days and have the largest disparity between their own back-to-backs and those of their opponents.
NBA released the 2025-26 schedule which means we can look at how often teams are playing back-to-backs vs. how often they’re *facing* an opponent that’s on a b2b
opponent b2bs are ~equally important, but are not distributed as evenly as team b2bs pic.twitter.com/NxVzsfAh2t
— Owen Phillips (@owenlhjphillips) August 14, 2025
It’s going to be a challenge for this veteran core built for deep playoff runs. Though this summer’s flurry of moves should help the team through this daunting journey.
Denver’s season tips off Oct. 23 at Golden State, the first of many national TV matchups against Western Conference rivals. The Nuggets are among the league leaders in playing in prime time this year, they’ll do it 26 times. Opening week also includes a home date with the Phoenix Suns, plus an early visit to Minnesota in what Denver fans will hope can be the night the losing streak to the Timberwolves is vanquished.
The Nuggets again play on Christmas night, hosting the Wolves for a late-night ABC bout. They also have several prime matinee games later in the season, including matchups with the Wolves and Spurs.
The longest road trip comes over the holidays, with seven games away from Ball Arena after Christmas through the first week of the new year. An East Coast grind featuring stops in Orlando, Miami, Toronto, Cleveland, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Boston. That run includes two back-to-backs and five games in seven days.
There’s also an oddly tough stint between early November into mid-December where the Nuggets aren’t scheduled to play consecutive home games at all — meaning they’ll be on an airplane after every single game. Though this may get shortened due to the two games we don’t yet know about, thanks to the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Denver also has arguably the most challenging draw for the NBA Cup, being in West Group C with the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets, and Trail Blazers.
The good news: Denver’s closing stretch is relatively home-heavy, with seven of the final nine games at Ball Arena. That could be crucial for seeding in the Western Conference, where playoff spots have been decided in the final days for the Nuggets in the last two years. Likewise, the team’s first rematch with the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder won’t come until February 1. The four late-season games between Denver and OKC may once again decide both the West and MVP between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Whether the Nuggets have the NBA’s easiest or hardest schedule depends on what you value: opponent strength on paper or the daily grind in reality. Denver was 12-4 in no rest games last year, but it’s hard to view that as repeatable, even with a deeper team.
Look for rookie head coach David Adelman to rest the Nuggets stars a bit more this regular season, given the aging nature of the core, the amount of games they’ve played in the past few years and the depth this roster boasts.
Speaking of, many believe the Nuggets are among the winners of the offseason, trading Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson, swapping Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas and then signing Bruce Brown Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. All moves that significantly shored up the team’s depth both for the long haul in the regular season and to allow more bodies to get on the floor in the playoffs.
Whether the Nuggets navigate the NBA’s easiest schedule or its most grueling one will depend on how they handle those taxing travel stretches. With added depth from offseason moves — and a win total projection of 53.5 — Denver has the tools to chase another top seed. But as Jokic and Jamal Murray know, the regular season is just the process. The real stuff is what comes after.
