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Denver starters outside of Jokic are all out tomorrow in San Antonio
The Denver Nuggets are back at home tonight to play the San Antonio Spurs in the 2025-26 NBA regular season finale.
It was only two weeks ago that these two teams faced each other. The game was an instant classic between stars Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, each who hit timely shots down the stretch.
In the end, it was the three-time MVP who got the last laugh.
GettyNikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter at Ball Arena on April 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado.
Jokic hit Wembanyama, the consensus favorite for the Defensive Player of the Year award, with his patented turnaround shot off one leg — affectionately dubbed the “Somber Shuffle.”
It was a battle of two titans and a pair of Western Conference contenders.
The Spurs come into town tonight at the second seed in the conference while the Nuggets are yet to finalize their final seeding.
Depending on the outcome of this game or the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz, Denver could finish as low as the fourth seed or stay put at the third seed.
Considering there are many key players out of tonight’s contest at Ball Arena, it could go either way for the home team.
Denver Nuggets Roll Out Starting Five in Strange Regular Season Finale
It has been a testy season for the Nuggets.
They began the season hot but quickly cooled off. For a long stretch from the start of the new year, Denver was a .500 basketball team. Injuries had some to do with that, but so did some flat-out poor play.
All in all, Jokic assembled another MVP caliber season. The 31-year-old Nuggets star averaged a triple-double for the second time in his iconic career. In the modern era, only Jokic’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, has averaged that for an entire season more times.
Jokic’s MVP push was suppressed around midseason when he went down with injury. Had he avoided the trouble, he would have already satisfied the 65-game rule, therefore making him eligible to be considered for postseason awards.
Because Jokic has yet to obtain eligibility, he will have to play tonight. The star big man will be out there alongside Denver’s usual bench mob.
Here are the five starters the Nuggets are trotting out tonight:
How Denver Will Manage Jokic Tonight
In a perfect world, this would’ve certainly been a rest night for the former MVP. Sitting out tonight would’ve given Jokic well over a week of rest entering Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. But Jokic is where he is.
To satisfy the 65-game rule, Jokic will need to play at least 15 minutes tonight. Once he does that, he can check out. That’ll probably happen considering how much health is priority for the Nuggets entering a pressure-packed postseason.
On the season, Denver is 52-28 and has won its last 11 games. After a brutal March, the Nuggets have recaptured some velocity at an opportune time.
Their offense has flowed better and has even been quite explosive some games, but the defense remains a question mark in crucial stretches.
With the playoffs gearing up, the actual season for the Nuggets begins in a week.
Adel Ahmad Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad
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