One question facing each member of Nuggets’ starting five

Sports

Published September 20, 2026 1:59pm
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Updated September 20, 2026 2:23pm

The final week of the offseason is here.

Next week, the Nuggets will unite in Denver for media day before training camp starts in Boulder. The preseason starts in two weeks, and the regular-season opener is a month away.

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Here’s one question facing each member of the Nuggets’ starting five that will need to be answered correctly over the next nine months if Denver wants to host another championship parade next summer:

Will Jamal Murray regain his reputation as a playoff riser?

The numbers are going the wrong way since Playoff Murray became Champion Murray. After averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in a magical 2023 playoff run, the 29-year-old has failed to average more than 23.7 points (2026), 5.7 assists (2026) or 4.2 rebounds (2025) in any of the last three postseasons. The closest he’s come to replicating the 2023 scoring efficiency — 47.3% from the field and 39.6% from 3-point range — was a 44.4% mark from the field and a 35.4% from 3 in 2025. Minnesota wing Jaden McDaniels and a gang of physical Oklahoma City defenders have had a lot to do with the drop-off, but they’re not going anywhere. Last season, Murray proved he can put together a regular season worthy of All-Star and All-NBA honors. This season, he needs to get back to being one of the NBA’s most feared playoff performers.  

Can Christian Braun shoot?

The data is inconclusive four years into Braun’s professional career. What looked like a definitive yes in the 2023-24 (38.4%) and 2024-25 (39.7%) seasons became a legitimate question last season when the 25-year-old shot 30.1% from 3-point range, the worst mark of his career. Teams are going to dare Braun to shoot as long as his ability to make them pay is in question. To his credit, he’s largely been willing to try. His 3-point attempts have climbed every year from 1.3 attempts as a rookie to 3.3 last season, despite the inconsistent results. When healthy, the Nuggets can bank on Braun willingly guarding opposing teams’ most lethal perimeter threat and getting easy buckets in transition or off cuts in the half court. If the 3-ball returns to being a consistent threat while the number of attempts continues to climb, Denver’s elite offense enters unstoppable territory.

Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson, left, passes the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, center, and guard Donte DiVincenzo defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Does Cam Johnson have
a second-year leap?

The trade that brought Johnson to Denver was a no-brainer on paper. The Nuggets got off Michael Porter Jr.’s contract, received a more than capable replacement and used the additional financial flexibility to acquire Jonas Valanciunas, who was supposed to be an upgrade at backup center. Things didn’t work out exactly as the Nuggets would’ve hoped on multiple fronts. Johnson’s first season in Denver was mired by a shooting slump to start the season and a knee injury just when the Nuggets’ new starting small forward found his rhythm. He got back into the flow late in the regular season, scoring in double figures in 13 of Denver’s last 15 games and was Denver’s second-best player at times against the Timberwolves. He finished the season averaging 12.2 points, his lowest since his second NBA season back in 2020-21, though his 43% mark from 3-point range was the second best of his career. If health cooperates, Johnson should be a more consistent contributor in his second season in Denver.

How healthy is Aaron Gordon?

This is likely the most important question facing the Nuggets. No player on the roster wears as many different hats as Gordon, who’s Denver’s best lob threat in the dunker spot and defender of opposing forwards. Without him, life for Murray and Jokic gets a lot more demanding on both ends of the court. Gordon played in 68 or more games in each of his first three full seasons in Denver. He played 51 and 36, respectively, the last two seasons. The issue has been calf and hamstring strains that have limited his availability or effectiveness in each of the last two postseasons. The Nuggets need Gordon to be feeling good at the end of the season if there are any hopes of another long playoff run. When he’s not on the court, the Nuggets are a team that lacks soul.

Is Nikola Jokic still the BITW?

It hasn’t been much of a conversation around Denver, but the rest of the basketball-watching world has been debating who is the best basketball player on Earth. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is firmly in the conversation after winning the last two Most Valuable Player awards. Victor Wembanyama’s going to have something to say for the foreseeable future. Jokic is casually coming off a second consecutive season where he averaged a triple-double, but he wasn’t the same guy after returning from the longest absence of his NBA career. Then, he looked more human in the playoffs than he has in a long time. That’s going to have to be a one-off if Denver’s going to contend this season. Winning another championship will require an MVP-level season from Jokic. With a fourth MVP and a second title, the BITW conversation would go quiet for another year.