The consensus opinion on the Denver Nuggets heading into the 2026-27 season is down after their disappointing end to the 2025-26 season and their suboptimal offseason dealings. Not only did the Nuggets lose in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs in rather convincing fashion against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they also lost budding two-way star Peyton Watson in restricted free agency.
The Nuggets, instead of diving deep into the second apron, chose to stay under that threshold, trading Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers instead. While the loss of Watson isn't exactly the end of the world for Denver, it must sting for them to lose a 24-year-old combo forward who was just getting better. And they did not even make any major signings to help compensate for that departure.
Denver struggled the most last season on the defensive end; among teams that made the playoffs, they posted the worst defensive rating (116.0 points allowed per 100 possessions, ranking 21st overall in the NBA). And on paper, it doesn't look as though Denver did anything to address that.
The Nuggets do not have many avenues to improve the roster moving forward. Nikola Jokic is eligible to sign a five-year, $359.5 million contract next year, and that would squeeze Denver's finances even tighter.
Suffice to say, the Nuggets are squarely in win-now mode, even though their core is aging and getting more expensive, all while their depth is deteriorating. Can they ward off all the forces that seem to be out to get them as they look to mount a push for another title?
Here are a few bold predictions for the Nuggets heading into the 2026-27 season.
Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)All of the Nuggets' starters play in at least 70 games
The Nuggets still finished with 54 wins last season, which was good enough to earn them the third-seed in the Western Conference. That was with an avalanche of injuries bothering the team for what felt like the entire season.
The good news is that Jamal Murray has clearly put his injury problems in the past. He played in 75 games last season and he averaged career-highs across the board. His points, rebounds, and assists average were all career-bests (25.4, 4.4, and 7.1, respectively), and he shot a career-high 48.3% from the field and 43.5% from three as well.
But the rest of the team did not share the same injury fortune that Murray had last season. Only Jokic was able to cross the 65-game mark last season along with Murray, and he played in exactly 65 games — just enough for him to be eligible for postseason awards without having to file for an exemption like Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham did.
Jokic missed 16 consecutive games at one point due to a knee injury, and this put the Nuggets in an even tougher spot considering that their other key players also missed plenty of time.
Cameron Johnson, the sharpshooter they acquired in the Michael Porter Jr. trade, faced familiar injury woes and missed 28 games. Christian Braun, fresh off signing a huge contract extension, was limited to just 44 games played and wasn't quite able to recapture the heights he reached the previous season. Aaron Gordon's lower-body continued to betray him after a grueling 2025 playoff run as he played in just 36 contests.
Even Watson, who helped keep the Nuggets afloat amid Jokic's injury, missed 28 regular-season games and the entirety of the playoffs due to a hamstring injury. This makes predicting good health for the Nuggets this upcoming season quite bold.
However, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful on the injury front. Jokic, in 11 seasons in the NBA, has played in fewer than 70 games in a season just twice. Murray's history is a bit shaky, but he is hitting his physical prime and has been raring to prove his durability. Braun's 2025-26 campaign was an outlier; he averaged 79 games played over his first three seasons in the NBA, and there's no reason to believe that he's suddenly become an injury-prone player.
Johnson and Gordon's health are the trickier parts of this equation. The former has never suited up in over 70 games in a single season, while the latter may never accomplish that feat again after accumulating all the wear and tear on his body.
But for the Nuggets to contend this year, they will need their five best players to stay healthy. Because their roster quality drops off quickly after that.
Trevon Brazile makes All-Rookie Team, becomes Denver's most important bench player
The Nuggets, to make the most out of their current roster, have to hit home runs when filling out the roster from here on out. After all, they have so much money tied up to their core players that filling out the roster becomes all the more difficult. This explains why they had to settle for the uninspiring signings of Tyus Jones and Marvin Bagley III.
But one man has been turning heads during preseason, and that's rookie Trevon Brazile. The Nuggets traded down from the 26th pick of the 2026 NBA Draft to select Brazile with the 35th overall selection while picking up a few more draft assets for their troubles.
Article Continues BelowBrazile has been a major bright spot for the Nuggets during exhibition season. Not only has his 6-foot-9 frame stood out, his athleticism has also been in display. Moreover, his work rate on the defensive end, as well as his ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter, could make him a fixture of head coach David Adelman's rotation from day one.
The 23-year-old impresses in his rookie campaign to the point of making the All-Rookie Second Team, standing out for his valuable contributions for a winning team. DeMar DeRozan might be the Nuggets' flashy signing, but Brazile will be the team's most important bench piece — even over a more established role player like Spencer Jones.
Nuggets finish with the three-seed in the Western Conference
The defensive concerns and durability issues may be legitimate for the Nuggets. But if their starting five remains mostly healthy for the upcoming 82-game slate, there's no reason to expect them to stop pumping out wins in the regular season.
Their offense was so good last season (121.2 points per 100 possessions), and that was with quite a few of their rotation fixtures missing plenty of time due to injury.
This elite Jokic and Murray-led offense should be enough to fuel a successful regular-season campaign for the Nuggets in which they win at least 53 games, putting them behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the standings.
Whether they go deep in the playoffs or not is a different story. But the regular season is about consistency and continuity, and Denver has that in spades.