"We were playing very randomly, and it was effective" - Jamal Murray admits Nuggets nearly beat Thunder without structure

Today, everyone talks about the Oklahoma City Thunder as a dynasty in the making. Before them, similar remarks were made about the Denver Nuggets after they won their first title in franchise history back in 2023.

Nikola Jokic‘s phenomenal performances, a stable coaching staff, and core players in their prime fueled that narrative. But by the end of last season, things started to crack. After 10 years, just days before the playoffs, Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth were fired.

Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook were playing through with injuries, Jamal Murray battled illness, Jokic had an elbow issue, and right before Game 7, Aaron Gordon also got hurt. Murray himself reflected on last season’s playoff run at Media Day.

“I think we did a pretty good job back then… We lacked a little construction. We were playing very randomly, and it was effective,” Murray said.

Denver had to adapt on the fly

Murray also commented on the shocking situation of losing their championship coach and having to adapt on the fly. Still, they beat a loaded Los Angeles Clippers team in seven grueling games. Then they pushed the eventual champion Thunder to seven games as well.

What’s striking is that Denver came within one win of the Western Conference Finals despite posting a -5.0 net rating across the playoffs, per StatMuse, including blowout losses of 43, 34, 32 and 16 points. That only reinforced Murray’s point about their lack of structure.

While blowouts happen on the sample of 14 games, three losses by more than 30 points clearly showed Denver leaned heavily on the individual brilliance of their stars and knew they had experience in the clutch.

And yet, even that injury-riddled, practically coachless Denver squad managed to push a team expected to win multiple titles to seven games. That shows just how close they were to going all the way.

The Nuggets lost key pieces

Since their 2023 championship, the Nuggets’ rotation has become thin – Malone, Porter Jr., Brown, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They relied almost solely on Jokic’s timeless performances to make deep playoff runs. Last season, it was clear they lacked bench scoring, a backup center to spell the three-time MVP and reliable three-point shooting.

The new front office, led by Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace, seems to have addressed those needs. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Brown bolster the bench, one adding shooting, the other defense and a championship pedigree. Jonas Valanciunas looks like the best backup Jokic has ever had. At the same time, Cameron Johnson steps into Porter Jr.’s role without much drop-off offensively.

If injuries don’t derail them again, Denver could quickly shatter Oklahoma’s title defense dreams, potentially forcing changes for OKC much like Denver itself faced after their championship.

The feeling is that these two teams are destined to meet again in the playoffs next season, but the Nuggets should be far better prepared this time.

Although the Thunder will be the first favourite in the upcoming season — which is logical, as the reigning champions are always the team to beat — if things quickly click for this newly formed team from Colorado, with Jokic playing at this level, it will be hard for any team to be favoured against the Nuggets.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“We were playing very randomly, and it was effective” – Jamal Murray admits Nuggets nearly beat Thunder without structure

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