The Denver Nuggets had a very nice offseason.
They flipped Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. They also brought home Bruce Brown as a free-agent signing, as well as adding Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the mix.
Pairing those four additions with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon definitely makes it feel like this is the deepest Nuggets team since 2023.
Of course, they won an NBA title that year.
But after disappointing second-round exits to the Timberwolves and Thunder the last two seasons, it’s time for Denver to have another parade.
And the NBA insiders at ESPN can see that happening.
They released their picks of who will win the 2026 NBA Finals on Thursday, and the Nuggets checked in second in the entire league. Only Oklahoma City received more “points” in a grading system that isn’t explained. The Thunder got 101 points, while Denver registered 36. Cleveland was third with 27, Houston fourth with 21 and New York fifth with 11.
“The 2023 champion Nuggets are seen as the biggest challenger to the Thunder’s repeat. After pushing Oklahoma City to seven games in the West semifinals, Denver maneuvered this summer to provide Jokic the deepest supporting cast of his career,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wrote.
It’s not now or never for Jokic to add a second championship ring, but he’s probably got another four or five years to do it. Getting over the hump, again, this season would be big.
The Nuggets roster is loaded on paper, and clearly, they have the attention of the rest of the NBA.
Now it’s about doing it on the court as the regular season will be here in fewer than two months.
To see the full ESPN predictions, click here.
