SAN ANTONIO – The regular-season finale between the Spurs and Nuggets will decide Denver’s place in the playoff bracket, and based on how many rotation players they’re resting on Sunday they don’t seem concerned about dropping a place.

The injury report submitted Saturday afternoon listed Nikola Jokic as questionable, while Jamal Murray Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cameron Johnson, Spencer Jones, and Peyton Watson will all miss the game. If the Nuggets lose and the Lakers beat the tanking Jazz, Los Angeles will take over the No. 3 seed and drop Denver to fourth.

Why would the Nuggets want that?

Long, fascinating injury report for Spurs Nuggets game with huge playoff seeding implications

Nuggets:
Jokic-Q
Murray-O
Gordon-O
Hardaway-O
Braun-O
Johnson-O
Jones-O
Watson-O

Spurs
Wemby-Q
Castle-Q
Vassell-Q
Kornet-O

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) April 11, 2026

As things stand, Denver would face the six-seed Timberwolves in the first round. If they drop to four, they would instead host the Houston Rockets. The Nuggets have a 3-1 record against each of those teams, but they may see Minnesota as a more threatening opponent.

If the Nuggets do drop to four, though, that would mean that a potential second-round series would be against the Thunder instead of the Spurs. Barring a big upset Denver would need to beat one of these teams in the conference semifinals and another in the conference finals no matter how the bracket shakes out, so it might make sense for them to pick the first-round matchup they like best and cross the next bridges as they come.

The Nuggets are right up there with the Thunder and Spurs as a true title contender, and if San Antonio wins on Sunday they can guarantee they’d only have to face one of those teams en route to the NBA Finals. Denver in the four spot would set up a second-round series with either the Timberwolves or the injury-addled Lakers instead.

The Spurs will be without Luke Kornet in this game, and Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell are all listed as questionable. Wembanyama met the 65-game minimum for award eligibility in the previous win over the Mavericks. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if he rested on Sunday, but he didn’t rule out playing given the potential stakes of the game.

“I don’t think it’s safe to assume that (I would rest), because we don’t know what’s going to happen around the league,” he said.

Nikola Jokic, it should be noted, needs to play at least 15 minutes in this game to meet the 65-game minimum.

“We’re going to have that conversation tomorrow,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after Jokic missed Friday night’s win over a Thunder team also resting players. “He went through a lot of treatment today. Obviously, playoff success matters more than anything, but this rule is in front of us, so we have to make a proper decision… We need a real plan—either he plays the minutes necessary or we move on.”

Jokic is a shoo-in for First Team All NBA and a legitimate candidate for MVP, and like Wembanyama did against the Mavericks he will likely go out in an attempt to secure the necessary minutes. It seems unlikely he’ll go beyond that and carry his team to a win that brings them a first-round playoff matchup they want less.

Even if the Spurs have some key players out, they should be able to win because they’re one of the deepest teams in the league. If Harrison Barnes scores 17 points in the finale, San Antonio will be the first team in NBA history with eight players in double-figure scoring for a season.

All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox has taken a complimentary role at times to let his young teammates grow and flourish, but when Wemby is out he kicks his scoring into overdrive and is a big reason San Antonio has been able to win games without their MVP candidate.

“He’s by far the most capable on our team of understanding the pulse of the game and knowing exactly what to do at that time,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “He creates space, I mean space figuratively and literally, for Victor and Dylan and Steph and some of the other guys… and he also knows when he needs to insert himself at the forefront of the game, in whatever capacity that may be. And I think we’ve seen that lately, and I think we’ll continue to see that, and that’s what we’ll definitely need in the playoffs.”

WHO:Denver Nuggets, (53-28, W11)San Antonio Spurs (61-19, W3)WHEN:Sunday, April 12 (Tipoff 7:30 p.m. Central)WHERE:Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TexasHOW TO WATCH:ESPN | FanDuel Sports NetworkINJURY REPORT:

DEN: 

Nikola Jokic (right wrist injury management) – QUESTIONABLEJamal Murray (right shoulder impingement) – OUTAaron Gordon (right hamstring injury management) – OUTCameron Johnson (right ankle injury management) – OUTChristian Braun (left ankle injury management) – OUTTim Hardaway Jr. (left knee soreness) – OUTSpencer Jones (right hamstring strain) – OUTPeyton Watson (right hamstring strain) – OUT

SAS:

Victor Wembanyama (left rib contusion) – QUESTIONABLEStephon Castle (left foot soreness) – QUESTIONABLEDevin Vassell (right ribcage soreness) – QUESTIONABLELuke Kornet (right shoulder soreness) – OUTDavid Jones Garcia (ankle) – OUTEmanuel Miller (two-way) – OUT