Nuggets release schedule: What are potential key games?

DENVER (KDVR) — The NBA season is just around the corner, and after the Denver Nuggets dropped their schedule for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, fans can get a head start on gauging key games for the team.

Golden State Warriors: Opening night — Oct. 23

The Nuggets will start their campaign on the road when they face off against the remaining core of the Warriors dynasty, who have added some key additions as they attempt to get one more ring while Stephen Curry is around.

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The game will be a good litmus test against an experienced, championship-winning side, who very much believe they can be in the NBA Finals come June.

The game takes place on Oct. 23 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Christmas Day — Dec. 25

Denver will once again play on Christmas Day, adding to their eight total appearances, which includes a four-game streak that began in 2022.

Since 2019, the Nuggets have only missed out on playing on Christmas one time during the 2021 season.

Christmas Day is typically reserved for the league’s heavy hitters, whether that means pedigree or popularity. Playing on Christmas means the Nuggets are very much at the forefront of the NBA.

The Nuggets can share Christmas joy with fans when they take to the hardwood of Ball Arena on Dec. 25.

Oklahoma City Thunder: There they are… Feb. 1

It will take all the way until February for the Nuggets to face Northwest Division foe the OKC Thunder.

The battle between the two teams has always been electric, even from the days of Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, but this year’s first contest between the teams will be extra charged as the Thunder try to protect their title as kings of the Western Conference, and the Nuggets try to show them that are still the championship team from a few years ago.

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After going to seven games in the playoffs last season, both will have plenty to prove, and with such a late first match-up, the two teams should be in full-firing form when they meet in February.

The battle will commence at Ball Arena on Feb. 1.

Houston Rockets: Watch the throne — March 11

The Thunder are the clear favorites to repeat as champions next season, but a young Rockets team showed they were on the cusp of greatness last year.

A first-ever seven-team trade saw the Rockets pick up Durant and Clint Capela, while maintaining essentially all of their talented young core.

Durant is a generational player and offensive genius who can add some scoring punch to a young team that sometimes struggled to get the looks it wanted. Add in Capela’s veteran experience, rim-running ability and comfort level with the franchise that drafted him, and the Rockets might very well be the team to escape from the Western Conference.

The Nuggets, who have brought in some reinforcements of their own, can expect to go blow-for-blow against a potential playoff and championship-contending foe.

They face off in Ball Arena on March 11.

San Antonio Spurs: Finale — April 12

The final game of the season for the Nuggets is an away game against the Spurs, another young Texas team who have sky-high potential, but might be a few steps away from unlocking it like the Rockets did last season.

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However, when you have a team featuring Victor Wembenyama, who is probably the most unique player in league history, an All-Star point guard in De’Aaron Fox, Rookie of the Year winner Stephon Castle, the No. 2 draft pick from 2025, Dylan Harper and a pantheon of other blossoming young players, anything can happen.

By the final game of the season, the Nuggets will have a lot more clarity on what their postseason will look like, and if things go well for the Spurs — it could feature a playoff match-up against the team from San Antonio.

The Nuggets take to the Frost Bank Center on April 12 for the team’s final regular-season game.

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Nuggets release schedule: What are potential key games?

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