Now that we recognize Murray, Gordon and small forward Cam Johnson are the main candidates the Nuggets could trade for reasonably positive value, their offseason predicament also raises questions about what type of return they could get for Murray or Gordon in particular. Both players are 29 or older, with unfortunate injury histories and long-term commitments remaining on their current contracts.

They’re also extraordinary players. Murray was (in the opinion of this All-NBA voter) comfortably one of the 10 best players in the league this regular season. Gordon is the epitome of an overused term that coaches love to preach: He is a star in his role, one of the most versatile forwards in the game when he’s on the court.

They both make sense as win-now pieces for teams looking to take an immediate next step toward contention. They probably don’t make sense for most teams residing at the bottom of the league. (Johnson, on the other hand, could be reasonably appealing on an expiring contract to the vast majority of teams.)

So who are the Nuggets’ most likely trade partners, if they do make dramatic changes? Keep in mind that lot of deals might have to involve three or more teams due to salary-matching complications, and Denver’s return on one of these players might not even come from the same team that’s on the receiving end of Murray or Gordon. In any case, here’s a speculative list of teams that could benefit from their skillsets, and some of the contracts those teams could offload. Consider it a place to start before you open up — but remember, part of the Nuggets’ goal will probably be to take back less salary than they send out.

Potential Jamal Murray trade partners

Houston Rockets: Man, does it look shaky when Kevin Durant has to initiate the offense out of a double-team at midcourt. The Rockets just went an entire year without a true point guard. Fred VanVleet is set to return from a torn ACL, but if they’re worried about the residual effects and want to explore potential upgrades, Murray would be an obvious fit. That is, unless 21-year-old Reed Sheppard actually turns into the second coming of Steve Nash on a timeline that fits with the 37-year-old Durant.

Trade candidates who could appeal to Nuggets (2026-27 salary): Fred VanVleet ($25 million, right to veto), Dorian Finney-Smith ($12.7 million), Clint Capela ($6.7 million), Tari Eason (RFA).

Toronto Raptors: As uncomfortable as it is to picture Murray in any other uniform, this is the only one that would feel somewhat right. He receives a warm welcome from Toronto’s fans every time the Nuggets play in his home province. The Raptors view Scottie Barnes as a superstar in the making, but he needs some offensive help after a first-round series in which his team struggled to score against Cleveland.

Trade candidates: Immanuel Quickley ($32.5 million), RJ Barrett ($29.6 million), Gradey Dick ($7.1 million), Ja’Kobe Walter ($3.8 million).

Atlanta Hawks: They have a stacked defensive backcourt between Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but their offense ran through CJ McCollum at the end of playoff games this year. Murray could make them a better half-court team, partnering with another elite facilitator in Jalen Johnson.

Trade candidates: CJ McCollum (UFA), Gabe Vincent (UFA), Jonathan Kuminga ($24.3 million, team option), Corey Kispert ($14 million), Zaccharie Risacher ($13.8 million), Buddy Hield ($9.7 million).

Orlando Magic: One of the most disappointing teams of 2025-26, Orlando is widely expected to try moving point guard Jalen Suggs this summer. The Magic might simply give the keys to Anthony Black if they feel content with the star power of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner on the wings. But even with that tandem and Desmond Bane, their offense hasn’t escaped the bottom half of the league in years. Purely in terms of basketball fit, Murray would make a ton of sense here. But one of the biggest obstacles would be that Orlando’s offseason motivations could also involve cost-cutting.

Trade candidates: Franz Wagner ($41.8 million), Jalen Suggs ($32.4 million), Jonathan Isaac ($14.5 million), Goga Bitadze ($7.6 million), Tristian da Silva ($4 million).

Boston Celtics: It’s difficult to imagine the Celtics going after someone with Murray’s max salary unless they decide the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown partnership has run its course. But if that is their decision, then pairing Tatum with a second option like Murray would be one less costly way to pivot than chasing Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Trade candidates: Jaylen Brown ($57.1 million), Derrick White ($30.3 million), Sam Hauser ($10.8 million).

Dallas Mavericks: Old friend Masai Ujiri would be justified if he decided the Mavs have a miniature window for the next three seasons, before Cooper Flagg gets expensive. He’s already a budding superstar one year into his career. If his upward trajectory proves to be anywhere near as exponential as Victor Wembanyama’s, then the remainder of Murray’s prime could fit the timeline of Flagg’s rookie contract. Kyrie Irving is 34 and hasn’t played in more than a year; with a new front-office regime in place, the Mavericks’ commitment to him as a foundational piece is unclear.

Trade candidates: Kyrie Irving ($39.5 million), PJ Washington ($19.8 million), Klay Thompson ($17.5 million), Caleb Martin ($10 million), Naji Marshall ($9.4 million), Max Christie ($8.3 million).

Miami Heat: Like Boston, Miami might have more ambitious pursuits in mind than Murray. But after years stuck in the middle, it feels like some sort of change is coming to an awkwardly built roster around defensive anchor (and 83-point scorer!) Bam Adebayo.

Trade candidates: Norman Powell (UFA), Tyler Herro ($33 million), Andrew Wiggins ($30.2 million, player option), Davion Mitchell ($12.4 million), Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($5.9 million), Kel’el Ware ($4.7 million), Kasparas Jakucionas ($3.8 million).

Sacramento Kings: No, they’re not a contender by any means. But you never know what the Kings might do. Perhaps Vivek Ranadive is overcome with seller’s remorse and wants to aggressively pursue a new star point guard after watching Tyrese Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox thrive in the last three postseasons. One thing that would be appealing to Denver is the amount of 2027 expiring salary the Kings have on their books with trade candidates like Zach LaVine.

Trade candidates: Zach LaVine ($49 million), DeMar DeRozan ($25.7 million), De’Andre Hunter ($24.9 million), Keegan Murray ($24.1 million), Malik Monk ($20.2 million), Devin Carter ($5.2 million).

Potential Aaron Gordon trade partners

Charlotte Hornets: After a meteoric midseason rise to become one of the NBA’s best offenses, Charlotte went out sad in the Play-In Tournament. The future is bright. The Hornets have every reason to believe they can compete with the best teams in the East next year. Gordon would be a clear upgrade from Miles Bridges at power forward, adding defensive toughness and championship experience to a young roster.

Trade candidates: Miles Bridges ($22.8 million), Josh Green ($14.7 million), Grant Williams ($14.3 million), Tre Mann ($8 million), Pat Connaughton ($3.8 million, team option), Liam McNeeley ($2.9 million).

Detroit Pistons: Maybe the Pistons can re-sign the aging Tobias Harris for an affordable price (he was already making $26 million) and trade for a star-caliber upgrade on the wing, like Trey Murphy III. But if those plans don’t work out, Gordon is the type of player who could bolster their offense — both as a secondary ball-handler and spot-up shooter — without giving up any of the doggedness that became Detroit’s identity as a flawed No. 1 seed.

Trade candidates: Kevin Huerter (UFA), Duncan Robinson ($16 million), Isaiah Stewart ($15 million), Caris LeVert ($14.8 million), Marcus Sasser ($5.2 million).

Los Angeles Lakers: Los Angeles would probably love to steal any of Watson, Johnson or Gordon from Denver. The hard part to imagine about this fit is a Denver fan favorite wearing the loathsome purple and gold of the Lakers.

Trade candidates: LeBron James (UFA), Rui Hachimura (UFA), Luke Kennard (UFA), Jarred Vanderbilt ($12.4 million), Jake LaRavia ($6 million), Marcus Smart ($5.4 million, player option), Dalton Knecht ($4.2 million).

San Antonio Spurs: Similarly, it seems unlikely that Denver would trade a core player to one of its biggest adversaries in the Western Conference. But the Spurs could benefit from getting a little bigger on the wing around Wembanyama, and Gordon would be an outstanding four in their starting lineup. Another obstacle: The Spurs have so many talented young players on team-friendly contracts that it’s difficult to see them wanting to part with, well, almost anyone on their 2026-27 roster. Gordon would make them older and more fragile in the legs.

Trade candidates: Harrison Barnes (UFA), Keldon Johnson ($17.5 million), Luke Kornet ($10.5 million), Carter Bryant ($5.1 million).

Phoenix Suns: Phoenix seems fully committed to building around Devin Booker for the foreseeable future, and Gordon does fit his timeline. The Suns will have to get creative if they want to keep trending up after a pleasantly surprising seventh-place finish. The power forward position is an obvious hole in their roster.

Trade candidates: Dillon Brooks ($21 million), Grayson Allen ($18.1 million), Royce O’Neale ($10.9 million).

Golden State Warriors: There might not be a more desperate team to stay competitive short-term than Golden State. Age is just a number to the Warriors right now. They’re reportedly preparing to pursue Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and anyone else they can get their hands on in an effort to stay relevant as the sun begins to set on Steph Curry’s career. Gordon would look young and spry on this roster.

Trade candidates: Moses Moody ($12.5 million), Al Horford ($6 million, player option), Brandin Podziemski ($5.7 million), Gui Santos ($4.6 million).

Los Angeles Clippers: An absolute wild card. Do they tear it down and start a rebuild around Darius Garland and the No. 5 pick? Or do they try to stay competitive after a 15th consecutive season above .500, the longest active streak in the league?

Trade candidates: John Collins (UFA), Bogdan Bogdanovic ($16 million, team option), Derrick Jones Jr. ($10.5 million), Brook Lopez ($9.2 million, team option), Isaiah Jackson ($7 million), Kris Dunn ($5.7 million, non-guaranteed).

Is the No. 1 seed overrated? Yes and no

Everybody knows how unprecedented it is that seven different teams have won the last seven NBA Finals. But here’s an interesting, less-discussed subplot of the league’s parity era: With Detroit’s Game 7 loss to the Cavs last weekend, a No. 1 seed has been eliminated before the conference finals in seven straight years (and eight of the last nine). That’s quite a surprising streak in a league that’s generally considered the least upset-prone of the major American sports.

• 2026: Pistons (60-22) lost 4-3 to No. 4 Cavaliers in Round 2
• 2025: Cavaliers (64-18) lost 4-1 to No. 4 Pacers in Round 2
• 2024:���ճ�ܲԻ��� (57-25) lost 4-2 to No. 5 Mavericks in Round 2
• 2023: Bucks (58-24) lost 4-1 to No. 8 Heat in Round 1
• 2022: Suns (64-18) lost 4-3 to No. 4 Mavericks in Round 2
• 2021: 76ers (49-23) lost 4-3 to No. 5 Hawks in Round 2
• 2020: Bucks (56-17) lost 4-1 to No. 5 Heat in Round 2
• 2018: Raptors (59-23) lost 4-0 to No. 4 Cavaliers in Round 2

It’s enough to at least raise the question of whether seeding is overrated.

The answer to that question remains a definitive no.

The surviving No. 1 seed has still won the last three championships, sustaining a trend that spans the history of the NBA: The best team usually wins. Upsets may be a little more prevalent, but OKC, Boston and . The regular season has remained a pretty good indicator of which team is going to hoist the Larry O’Brien.

A No. 1 seed has won roughly two-thirds of all championships. Only eight No. 3 seeds have won, and only two teams seeded lower than that have pulled it off — the 1969 Celtics (No. 4) and 1995 Rockets (No. 6). The third-place Nuggets felt like they had a shot as they entered the playoffs this year, but they would have been an anomaly.

Pour one out for the Pacers

The closest any recent sub-three has gotten to the title was last June, of course, when Indiana’s magical run was cut tragically short in Game 7 of the Finals. Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles tendon is a “what if” for all eternity. The Pacers deserved some good karma. In the middle of a lost season, they took one of the gutsiest risks you’ll see in the NBA — trading their 2026 first-round pick, top-four protected, to the Clippers for center Ivica Zubac.

The logic behind it made sense: The four headliners of this draft class could fit Indiana’s roster and immediately contribute to a win-now cause. Fifth or lower, the Pacers were willing to lose for a veteran of Zubac’s stature.

The game of chance was nonetheless nerve-racking. After finishing with the league’s second-worst record, the Pacers entered the draft lottery with a 52% chance to keep their pick and a 48% chance to forfeit it to Los Angeles. The lowest it could fall was sixth. It was a coin toss.

If any team in the NBA deserved to win a coin toss, it was them.

They walked away empty-handed. The pick fell to No. 5, to a Clippers team in the middle of a salary cap circumvention scandal, rubbing salt on the wound.

Indiana, with AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, or Cameron Boozer coming off the bench, would have been a sight to behold. Instead, the book is closed on one of the most cursed years any franchise has ever endured. (We haven’t even mentioned Haliburton’s case of shingles.) If the Pacers want a second chance on the biggest stage, they’ll have to make their own luck.

East could be a gauntlet in ’26-27

A perennial laughingstock compared to the Western Conference, the East should be fun and fierce next season. Indiana’s anticipated return to form (even without a lottery pick) adds a proven title contender to the mix. Boston, New York, Detroit and Cleveland shouldn’t be any less dangerous on paper, roster changes pending.

Orlando was a team considered talented enough to make a deep run this season, and now Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will have a new coach to offer a fresh perspective on how they can optimize that talent. Philly’s health is fickle, but the upside is evident after a first-round upset of Boston. Atlanta and Toronto are playoff teams on the rise, with the trade resources to power up. Then there’s Charlotte, one of the most compelling teams of all — another ascending core with reason to believe it can win the conference after finishing 2025-26 on a 33-15 surge.

Giannis Antetokounmpo looms over the entire landscape. His exit from Milwaukee represents a paradigm shift. Wherever he gets traded in the next month will leap ahead as a contender. Any number of East hopefuls could go after him.

This all leaves a feeling that the Pistons were a little too content to treat 2025-26 as a house-money year. They handled the trade deadline the same way Oklahoma City did in 2024 — by doing nothing to address obvious holes in a first-place roster. They preferred to see things through in their current form, gain playoff experience and evaluate next steps afterward. The Thunder had so much premier talent that GM Sam Presti needed only to supplement his stars in the summer of 2024. Detroit appears farther from a championship, more in need of substantial upgrades — not just better shooting around Cade Cunningham, but a secondary star capable of creating off the dribble.

Those needs were already apparent in February, when a more manageable path through the East lay ahead. By waiting, the Pistons might not have helped themselves. What if the house money year turns out to be their best opportunity?

Where do the Timberwolves go from here?

The West should remain the more top-heavy conference, at least. on Monday night was proof of that. Twenty-eight general managers will wake up in a cold sweat at some point this summer, jolted out of a nightmare about that game.

Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the juggernauts surrounding them aren’t going anywhere.

Even if Presti has to make sacrifices to the second apron, his roster is such a cornucopia of talent that it’s difficult to imagine OKC doing anything except winning 60 games over and over again. Meanwhile, Wembanyama has broken basketball.

It’s a league-wide existential crisis. But it has to be more dramatic than the other superstar-laden teams in the West. Teams with a player good enough to incentivize aggressive roster moves that are nonetheless unlikely to close the gap. Teams like the Nuggets. And the team that has their number.

For as much as they’ve crossed paths and evolved into a box-office matchup, Minnesota and Denver seem to form a pretty clear secondary tier in the conference right now. The Wolves pushed San Antonio to six, but they went out of the playoffs with a whimper for the third consecutive year of Anthony Edwards’ prime. They’ve trailed by 30 points in each of their last three elimination games.

Their superstar is much younger than Denver’s, but he’s stuck in the middle of SGA and Wemby’s generations. The Nuggets at least did themselves a favor by capturing a title before this Thunder-Spurs thing became a problem.

Tim Connelly is no stranger to blockbuster trades, and it feels like there’s another one coming this offseason. The Timberwolves need a pure point guard to spare Edwards after he spent a year playing out of position. They also need a frontcourt reboot — the Julius Randle-Rudy Gobert combo may have reached its ceiling already. New York is emerging as a potential winner in the KAT trade. It doesn’t help that Donte DiVincenzo is likely out for most of next season.

This all gets at a central theme: the summer trade market could be busy and messy, with many good teams desperately grasping for greatness. Wembanyama is going to prompt some intriguing, possibly rash, decisions.

A trendy pick to skyrocket in the West

For a few years now, there’s been at least one young Western Conference team that catapults up the standings from the lottery more dramatically than anyone predicts. This season, it was the Spurs with a 28-win increase from 13th place to second. The year before, it was the Rockets going from 11th to second. In 2023-24, the Thunder jumped from 10th to first.

Everyone has eyes on Charlotte in the East. In the West, Utah wants to be that team next season. The Jazz loaded up at the trade deadline by acquiring Jaren Jackson Jr., waited out one last year of tanking and got rewarded with the No. 2 overall pick. They could have an opening day lineup of Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson (or another top prospect), Lauri Markkanen, JJJ and Walker Kessler, with Ace Bailey off the bench. They have the assets to make other aggressive moves.

If anyone is going to steal a top-six seed in the West from one of this year’s contenders, Utah will be a popular pick to be that team. Bad news for Denver: It’s yet another divisional opponent trying to win, along with OKC, Minnesota and the lurking Blazers. Life is not getting easier for Nikola Jokic and company.

That endearing quality allows the Nuggets’ ownership to take advantage of him, permitting strategic neutrality through glossy double talk as the franchise reaches a crossroads.

Honestly? At this point in his career, there really is only one way Jokic can help the Nuggets win a championship.

Force them to pick a lane.

The Nuggets insist their championship window remains open because of Jokic. President Josh Kroenke emphasized as much last Friday.

But, the Nuggets front office knows the team is flawed, exposed as inferior and soft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But, they have a good core with Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Jokic. They could run it back.

And round and round it goes.

The Nuggets held a press conference to let us know they could do everything or nothing this offseason. Thanks for clearing that up. It is like the cable guy saying he will show up sometime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The ambiguity is maddening and messy.

The Nuggets need a clear direction.

What if Jokic walked into the corner office of Stan and Josh Kroenke — or set up a Zoom call from the race track — and demanded the owners spend into the luxury tax or risk the three-time MVP not signing his four-year, $278 million contract extension?

Some people are convinced that the Nuggets are fine and should never acquiesce to any player, even the greatest in franchise history. But would they really say no and risk the consecutive sellout streak and the merchandise money tied to his presence?

The idea of Jokic with a meaner demeanor struck me as to get Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka fired — how dare he not give James a game ball after he set the record for most victories by any player in NBA history? And the chronically tardy while maintaining plausible deniability.

It is exhausting. And it makes us appreciate Jokic.

But what if the Nuggets need something different? For him to command an all-in approach or agree to exercise patience.

At this point in his career — 11 seasons deep — Jokic should demand ownership spend into the luxury tax to improve the roster around him. Or hold his peace and show patience.

And ownership must come clean, and admit this offseason is about avoiding the repeater tax penalties, and that another title run will begin in earnest in 2029 as beat writer Bennett Durando explained, setting “Denver up for three seasons of aggressive spending that coincide with the term of Jokic’s next contract.”

Running it back is the equivalent of being half-pregnant.

The idea of Jokic asserting authority is appealing, rather than remaining satisfied that the front office listens to his opinions and runs big decisions past him. But the time he needed to do it was in 2024.

It is hard to see the Nuggets adding or reconfiguring the pieces in a meaningful way. General managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer have shown acumen, but asking them to thread the needle by avoiding the apron and keeping the core together seems unrealistic.

Trading multiple players, though, can re-energize the franchise and make it more flexible with draft capital. It is not ideal. But it is not a terrible idea when looking at how the Nuggets measure up against the Timberwolves, Spurs and Oklahoma City.

Those teams are more athletic, deeper and way better defensively at a time when that trend is dominating the postseason.

It is fair to wonder if the era of winning with offense — even one as prolific as the Nuggets — is over. Jokic’s reign as the best player is. Victor Wembanyama is ready to turn the MVP trophy into a personal paperweight beginning next season.

This is why taking a step back to move forward is rational, if executed properly. I am never a fan of saving owners money, but going all in with the same team, including retaining Peyton Watson, is sentimental and shortsighted.

The Jokic-Murray-Gordon trio is not what it once was.

The players are three years older since winning rings. Gordon has been hurt and has only been available for half the games. And it doesn’t help that Jokic and Murray, below-average defenders in 2023, are worse now because they lack the burst to make stops in big moments or at the end of games.

It would be great to challenge them to produce one last dance together. But even if they have the determination, it cannot mask aging bodies that can betray them.

Their best chance seems to be avoiding a quick fix. The Nuggets don’t have to rebuild. They have to reboot around Jokic.

The risk of standing pat is not worth the reward. They would be better off trading Cam Johnson and Gordon or Murray than winning 55 games next season, knowing the second round is the ceiling.

The idea of stepping back with Jokic seems outrageous. I get it. But the Nuggets are not one or two players away. Jokic can make the team competitive, entertaining. I am pretty sure Jokic and four guys from the YMCA would post a winning record.

Wouldn’t you rather see 48 victories with young players with an eye on supplementing the group with big-name free agents starting in 2028? Think back to when the Nuggets produced their most memorable victories last season — at Philadelphia, at Boston and at San Antonio.

The common thread in those games?  Players who were hungry with more energy. A younger team with promise is easy to embrace after watching the Nuggets capitulate in the playoffs.

They need a reset. It is an uncomfortable conversation. But the only way ownership will have failed Jokic is if he doesn’t get another championship. Not next year. Over the next five years.

But the remark was nonetheless revealing — specifically, the absence of a sentence clause offering Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon the same protection as Jokic.

The 31-year-old Serbian center is due a contract extension this summer, and all indications are that he plans to sign it. As for Denver’s other two franchise cornerstones, the future is clouded by Kroenke’s comment. Should it be taken seriously? Or was it just an easy platitude, meant to convey the urgency of the situation after a disappointing first-round playoff loss? After all, Kroenke also hinted that “running it back” with the remaining core of Denver’s 2023 championship team is a possibility.

In order to peel back the layers and truly understand how the Nuggets might proceed from here, you have to follow the money. That will dictate team officials’ offseason decisions as much as — if not more than — the fact that the Nuggets fell flat in the playoffs. The Post has already reported that at least one key player is almost guaranteed to be sacrificed this summer. As we begin exploring Denver’s trade possibilities and free-agent candidates over the next few weeks, we must start with what they have to offer — and why not one but multiple starter-level players could feasibly be gone by the time the dust settles on this offseason.

A mock offseason … minus the trades

The easiest way to illustrate the Nuggets’ dilemma is to first predict every roster decision they’re going to make, minus trades. Basically, we’re gaming out a “mock offseason” but leaving it incomplete. That should give us a rough estimate of their 2026-27 payroll and how much salary they’ll have to dump via a trade to avoid the repeater tax.

Here are the projected NBA tax thresholds for next season to keep in mind:

• Luxury tax: $201 million
• First apron: $209 million
• Second apron: $222 million

At this exact moment, the Nuggets have 10 roster spots filled and $213.8 million on the books. Even in the most aggressive version of this offseason imaginable, in which they decide to spend lavishly, they’re probably going to treat that second-apron number as a hard cap. Most NBA owners do. Alternatively, the Kroenkes might want to get under the luxury tax or at least within range of it — enough to preserve the option to shed more salary at the 2027 trade deadline (like they did this past season). That means we’re eyeing $201 million as the goal while predicting these moves. We have to locate the easiest ways to snip payroll.

Start with backup center Jonas Valanciunas, who has a non-guaranteed salary of $10 million. The Nuggets have already agreed to guarantee him $2 million of that. But it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that he won’t be in Denver next season. He might not be in the NBA at all. One major Euro League team already tried to lure him away last summer, and he’s reportedly expected to have more overseas suitors this year. Leaving the NBA behind would allow him to be closer to home (Lithuania) and get more playing time as he enters the late stages of his career.

The exit strategy here could work in one of three ways. The Nuggets could trade him to a team that’s willing to eat the remaining salary on his contract after releasing him. But that would probably cost them at least a second-round pick, and they have only three of those to spend with other salary-shedding moves to anticipate. Another option is to waive Valanciunas outright and eat the $2 million on the 2026-27 cap sheet. Or they could “waive and stretch” him, which would basically disperse his guaranteed salary over three seasons. The Nuggets would incur a modest $666,667 dead cap hit next season, still saving them $9.3 million. It seems like the most reasonable route to predict, partially because ownership shouldn’t be as worried about paying the tax in the last two seasons of stretched salary if Denver successfully ducks the repeater next year.

Another easy penny-pinching move is to pick up Jalen Pickett’s fourth-year team option. His $2.41 million salary is about $40,000 cheaper than the projected veteran minimum cap hit. Cha-ching.

Another is to keep the No. 26 pick in the draft and sign that player to a standard contract. The rookie salary scale for the 26th pick is projected to start around $3.1 million. That’s a cheap roster spot and an opportunity to fill a positional hole of Denver’s choosing, lower down on the depth chart.

The Nuggets have two restricted free agents in Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. Jones came close but didn’t quite meet the “starter criteria” for RFAs, meaning his qualifying offer is the standard minimum instead of $5.9 million. Watson’s qualifying offer is $6.5 million, but he’ll get paid much more than that, whether it’s from Denver or someone else. It should be noted that if the Nuggets want to scare away other suitors (Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago), they’ll probably want to telegraph their intent and ability to match offer sheets in advance. They can only do that by agreeing to a significant salary-shedding trade and clearing their books before free agency — a brutal tightrope to walk with no guarantee that Watson doesn’t still get a lucrative offer regardless. Point being: Our order of operations in this simulation is not meant to be accurate.

Watson checks a lot of boxes for the Nuggets after they felt like they were at a loss for secondary ball-handling and athleticism against Minnesota. Let’s just say restricted free agency works out perfectly, with Jones taking his qualifying offer and Watson getting squeezed a bit in negotiations. We’ll pencil him in for an ascending deal that starts at $20 million next season and has an average annual value between that and $25 million. This would be a team-friendly outcome that still acknowledges and validates Watson’s breakout year.

In summary, here are the (hypothetical) moves:

• Waive and stretch Jonas Valanciunas
• Pick up Jalen Pickett’s team option
• Keep the 26th pick in the draft
• Re-sign Spencer Jones at the minimum
• Re-sign Peyton Watson to an ascending deal starting at $20 million

This adds up to a payroll just shy of $230 million, with 12 roster spots occupied. Teams are required to carry at least 14 players on the 15-man roster. We saw the Nuggets leave the 15th vacant for most of last season. It seems likely that they’ll want to repeat that strategy to help with their cap crunch. But even if they do, they’re left with $29 million to cut and two more roster spots to fill.

Ideally, part of the solution is to find a trade that achieves both goals by breaking down a single large salary into multiple smaller ones. But keep in mind that it can be difficult to pull off in the NBA’s apron era, when there are usually more teams trying to shed money than welcome more of it.

Which players can the Nuggets trade?

Outside of Jokic (and Valanciunas), here are Denver’s bulkiest 2026-27 salaries:

• Jamal Murray: $50.1 million, three years remaining
• Aaron Gordon: $32 million, three years remaining
• Cam Johnson: $23.1 million, one year remaining
• Christian Braun: $21.6 million, five years remaining
• Zeke Nnaji: $7.5 million, two years remaining

The reality is that neither Braun nor Nnaji can be the centerpiece of a trade. Now that Nnaji is halfway through his extension with a descending salary against an increasing cap, the Nuggets might be able to get off his contract by attaching him to a better player or by intervening in a random trade between other teams that need salary filler to complete the deal. (Keep an eye on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes — Denver could look to get involved as a fourth or fifth party, depending on how the trade landscape develops for Milwaukee’s superstar.)

Or the Nuggets could get rid of Nnaji in a straight-up salary-dump trade if they can convince someone to take second-round picks or a future first-round swap along with his contract.

Braun’s salary and term are probably both too daunting a commitment to say the same for him. Other teams just aren’t going to be sold on the 25-year-old guard right now. His shooting and handles are both under the microscope. The Nuggets can explore the market and offer to mortgage what’s left of their future draft pick pool, but they’ll have a hard time finding any takers.

That leaves you with Murray, Gordon and Johnson as the three main options who are:

1. Good enough to draw interest from other teams and become a primary trade chip.
2. Paid enough to help the Nuggets unload substantial salary in a trade.

Johnson is probably the easiest of the three to move because he’s on an expiring contract next season. In other words, he’s a low-risk commitment. Contenders and tankers alike could be swayed to take the 43% outside shooter, and Denver might even be able to get back some future draft capital. The problem is that his value might also be somewhat diluted by Denver’s intentions to dump salary. You have to view “getting off of Player X’s contract” as part of the return when evaluating this type of trade.

Now, consider that even if the Nuggets are able to reduce their payroll by most of Johnson’s $23 million salary, they would ���پ�������be a few million over the tax.

Sacrificing him isn’t enough. The math simply doesn’t add up. If you completely ignore NBA trade rules and other teams’ priorities, and if you subtract Johnson’s salary and Nnaji’s from $230 million without adding a single cent back, you still end up around $199.5 million with four open spots. Four veteran minimum free agents later, you’re paying $209.3 million for a roster with no salaries between $5 million and $21 million.

If the financial goal is merely to avoid the $222 million second apron, deciding between Johnson and Watson should suffice.

But the only way to actually duck the repeater tax, barring a miracle of front-office work by Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, is to dump Johnson and lose another valuable player. Maybe that means letting Watson go in free agency, or maybe that means trading Murray or Gordon.

Either way, it’s a financial dilemma that illuminates the meaning behind Kroenke’s message.

If the Nuggets “run it back” with their three best players, but they also want to evade the tax, the cost might be both Watson and Johnson — leaving them with a shallower, older version of the team that just lost in the first round.

If they truly want to prioritize youth, athleticism and defense at all costs (well, except for the tax), they might be sacrificing two starters to keep Watson — even at a relatively low-end salary projection, as we’ve outlined.

Neither option would be encouraging for the team’s championship aspirations in a league ruled by Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

And neither option would be a flattering look for Stan Kroenke, .

The counterpoint from ownership would be that two consecutive years out of the tax can set Denver up for three seasons of aggressive spending that coincide with the term of Jokic’s next contract. And that a first-round exit from the 2026 playoffs revealed the Nuggets are overdue for a reset of the core.

A reasonable rebuttal would be that next season is always the most important season when a player like Jokic is in his prime — and possibly nearing the end of it.

They aspired to choke. They never led long enough to gag.

Instead, they spent Thursday night at the Target Center desperate and dismantled.

They blew a prime opportunity to force a winner-take-all cagematch Saturday in Denver by blowing chunks in the biggest game of the season.

The Nuggets stared into the eyes of a pack of Wolves, and blinked. They botched a chance to make a run at second championship by getting bounced by a team missing three of its top players.

The easy explanation is that Jaden McDaniels walked the talk, and Jamal Murray couldn’t make a shot. That can suffice for this game, in a vacuum. But the reality of the series is more chilling.

In four of the six games, as a season expired in the first round for the first time since 2022, the Nuggets were not good enough.

They were outcoached, David Adelman playing the role of a pawn in Chris Finch’s weeklong chess game. They were outhustled, the Timberwolves winning on the offensive boards in such alarming fashion that they had 19 more field goal attempts than the Nuggets.

It was fitting in a series where the Timberwolves took successful shots on and off the court. McDaniels called five Nuggets players horrible defenders, mentioning them by name like a teacher taking attendance. Finch labeled Murray and Nikola Jokic floppers.

And the Nuggets took it. Every single slight. Every wayward elbow. Every punch.

They finally fought back in Game 5, but by that time they had been embarrassed, their heart questioned. When Nikola Jokic answered a fourth-quarter push from Jaylen Clark on Thursday with an impressive shove, it spawned more questions than answers.

Why wasn’t this mindset present after the Nuggets blew a 19-point lead in Game 2?

Instead, the Nuggets exited early, guaranteeing this game will be remembered as one of the worst performances, and the series as the most humiliating.

The Timberwolves exposed the Nuggets as a fraud, a vapid former champion left as a chew toy in the mouth of hungry Wolves.

So bad was this loss, so awful this series collapse, everything must be on the table.

After getting bounced with a better bench and Murray enjoying a career season, some tough conversations must happen, some difficult choices made.

First, the easy one. Jokic is not going anywhere. He reiterated that he still wants to be a “Nugget forever.” That means he should agree to a contract extension.

But what is he signing up for? The championship window feels closed. It does not require squinting to see Jokic morphing into Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Bucks, a former MVP playing off Broadway with a revolving cast of overpaid underachievers.

Without changes, there is no reason to think the Nuggets will be better next year. Sure, they could win more games because they are unlikely to set the single-season record for soft tissue injuries in back-to-back seasons. But it doesn’t mean the playoffs will look different.

If you haven’t noticed the two-man game, patented by Jokic and Murray, has been exposed and thwarted by elite defenses in the last three years they have been eliminated, twice by Minnesota and once by Oklahoma City. Those teams are younger, more athletic. And San Antonio might be better than both of them with Victor Wembanyama set to go on an MVP run for the ages.

The Nuggets looked old, tired. The effort was present. The execution was not. Murray capsulized the flaws by going 4-for-17 and finishing with 12 points.

“It’s on me,” he said. “That����ap the frustrating part. Not showing up when my team needed me most. I feel like if I had played a little better that we would have had that game. I take accountability for it. Rough night.”

So as Nuggets Nation wades through the dread and the disappointment, president Josh Kroenke has to be prepared to ask tough questions.

First, is David Adelman the right man for the job? He did himself no favors, getting led around by the nose by Finch at the podium and on the sidelines. An offensive genius in the regular season, who kept the Nuggets relevant despite an overcrowded training room, Adelman looked uncertain against Minnesota.

He waited too long to lengthen his bench, and even after The Other Guys starred in Game 5, he struggled to commit to them on Thursday. Malone got fired because he picked a fight he couldn’t win with general manager Calvin Booth and his players tuned him out.

The Nuggets players clearly like Adelman. But their praise of him smacks more like friendship than respect, and that has to change if he is going to keep the job.

Jokic admitted that in Serbia, players and coaches would get fired for a performance like this. But he was not calling for that on Thursday.

“It is not (Adelman’s) fault that we couldn’t rebound. It his not his fault that couldn’t catch the ball,” Jokic said. “There’s nothing to blame with David Adelman. It was all us.”

That is why the group must change. The timing is right to be bold. Of the trio of Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun, the Nuggets must consider moving on from two of them. Some would even throw Murray into the mix, but I don’t see it.

Gordon is Mr. Nugget. A fan favorite. His leg injuries and contract, however, are becoming problematic. They would be selling low. It is just getting increasingly hard to see him getting healthier at age 31 next season based on how the last calendar year played out.

Johnson met the moment on Thursday, scoring 27 points. He worked through slumps and showed his value. He became philosophical and emotional after the game, recognizing it might have been his last with the Nuggets, while clearly not wanting it to be.

The argument to trade Johnson centers on keeping Peyton Watson. He is 23, and blossomed this season as more than a spot-up shooter and shot blocker. With the Bulls and Lakers among the teams that will likely throw money at him, Watson will not be easy to keep.

It must be a priority.

Braun was trending upward when he received his contract extension in October — one that I approved of — before an ankle issue wrecked his season. He was borderline unplayable in this series, his explosiveness and 3-point shooting glaringly absent.

The best way for the Nuggets to improve is to leave chunks of this group behind, to fundamentally alter the fabric. It would be worth taking a step back next year to get younger, to reframe expectations with the plan to make one more championship run by 2029.

That is not a good option. But a loss has rarely felt his bad.

The fourth quarter ended with the crowd chanting “M-V-P!” for McDaniels and “F-U!” Jokic. Even if the Nuggets had somehow found their courage and won this series, the Spurs would have boxed their ears.

It is why they must weigh seismic changes. The Nuggets are not good enough.

And moving forward, anything is better than this.

The only thing standing between the Nuggets center and entry into the NBA’s list of top 10 all-time greats is another championship.

One more ring, one more parade to end the argument, and shove Shaquille O’Neal into the second tier.

The journey starts Saturday against rival Minnesota, then, if Waze can be trusted, through San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Boston. If Jokic guides the Nuggets to 16 wins, it would be his greatest achievement and silence the debate.

Jokic would sit officially and unquestionably at the big table, joining Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Bill Russell and Kobe Bryant.

The singular accomplishment of doubling up the number of Nuggets’ banners will cut Jokic in front of Steph Curry, Hakeem Olajuwon, Jerry West, Kevin Durant and Oscar Robertson.

Jokic is not competing against the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards — though both will leave mouths agape over the next two weeks. He is competing against legends.

Jokic boasts three league MVP awards and has finished in the top two in the voting for five consecutive seasons. It’s a streak, while in jeopardy, that could extend this June. He is a Finals MVP.

He enters the playoffs with his knee healthy and nine straight wins with the regular starting lineup and 12 overall, the longest of his career. He is the best player on the planet again, and not just because he led the league in rebounds and assists, something forever unthinkable for a player standing 6-foot-11 and weighing 284 pounds.

Over the past 11 years, he has placed himself in a rare stratosphere. His brilliance cannot be ignored, and modern stars have recognized as much, including Durant. It took awhile to warm up to the idea that the unicorn lives below the rim and always makes the right play for his team, not his brand.

Why this topic before a first-round series?

Because of the way we talk about the league, its history and the playoffs. There is a constant variable regarding the all-time lists, especially the top 10.

Multiple championships.

In this era, it is harder than ever to pull off. There have been seven straight different title winners. No defending champion has reached the Western Conference Finals since 2019.

But not having a second ring is what separates Jokic from Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain and Russell, among others.

The reason to bring this up now is that this is the best roster Jokic has had around him.

Yes, this team is better than the 2023 group. There is no comparing the depth.

Denver has 10 players who have shot over 38 % from 3-point range, benefiting from the center’s vision and the space he creates on the court. The Nuggets feature the league’s most efficient offense, and Jokic is the sun, the hub of the universe. And, depending on the matchup, he has a legit backup in Jonas Valanciunas, an upgrade over DeAndre Jordan.

Given how the NBA works and how the collective bargaining agreement is structured, teams don’t get title shots every season. We saw this a year ago when the Nuggets, unwilling to go into the second apron, pretended they could reach the finish line with Russell Westbrook as their one quality reserve.

This year, they had the means, the room, and the GMs to assemble a championship roster.

The timing stinks. The path was much easier last season.

Other than the 1995 Houston Rockets, this might be the hardest bracket to navigate for a championship. But find a way, somehow, and it is time to acknowledge that the man equals the myth. Jokic will be mentioned in barstool chatter with LeBron and Jordan.

This is the type of series to begin cementing that status.

The Timberwolves are good and annoying. Since 2022, the teams have split 28 games, counting the playoffs. But since Minnesota traded Karl Anthony-Towns, Jokic has treated the Wolves like a chew toy, averaging 35 points per game.

“We just need to be the aggressor and set the tone,” Jokic said Wednesday.

At 31, you would think he wants the six days off before getting into the starter’s block. But that is one of the misconceptions. Jokic loves basketball. Yes, he adores his horses. That is a hobby. Hoops are his profession. He does not want to wait.

“To be honest, I don’t like it,” Jokic said. “Maybe it will help the guys who were injured, but I want to play right away.”

Things broke perfectly this season for roster construction. They found a taker for Michael Porter Jr., providing room to add Bruce Brown and Valanciunas. And they landed a deadly sniper willing to sign at a clearance-rack price in Tim Hardaway Jr.

Spencer Jones should return Saturday, but uncertainty surrounds Peyton Watson. When healthy, the Nuggets have so many options in terms of style of play. They can go small. They can go big. They can run, which is when they are at their best. And they can slow it down and let Jokic dominate on post-ups.

There is no guarantee this team will look anything like this a year from now.

Therein lies the urgency.

As it stands, Jokic is in a conversation beneath him.

He is arguably the greatest player to win only one title. The group features West. He is “The Logo,” “Mr. Clutch,” a 14-time All-Star, who went 1-8 in the NBA Finals, though he was the only losing player to win MVP in 1969.

It includes Moses Malone. Like Jokic, he is a three-time MVP, known as the “Chairman of the Boards” for his ridiculous rebounding. It continues with Robertson, “The Big O.” He made 12 All-Star teams, but only one appeared in the Finals twice.

Dirk Nowitzki only has one. Kevin Garnett, too.

So does Giannis Antetokounmpo, a modern comp to Jokic, though he lacks the Nuggets star’s overall offensive prowess.

After the Thunder eliminated Denver last season, Jokic offered up a candid assessment. The Nuggets required more depth. Well, they’ve got it.

“To win a championship, you need the guys to step up at the right moment. If it is not your night one game, it’s OK because the next one is coming soon,” Jokic said. “I think we need everybody on our roster. Everybody needs to step up.”

It is time. The league’s best and most unselfish player deserves another ring to crash the all-time top 10 party.

They’ve been playing in a different NBA. Amid rising average point differentials and a record number of 30-point routs — symptoms of the tanking epidemic — the Nuggets have been arguably the most entertaining team to watch any given night.

Maybe it’s their commitment to beautiful offense paired with their neglect of defense during the regular-season grind, resulting in a tendency to trade buckets. Maybe it’s their propensity for playing up or down to their opponent’s level — human nature for a veteran team that has tasted so much playoff success. (Denver is soon to begin its 17th playoff series in an eight-year stretch.)

Whatever the case, the Nuggets have been involved in several “game of the year” candidates. They’ve played 45 games decided by single digits, 42 involving clutch time, 20 decided by one score and nine that went to overtime.

As they wrap up Sunday in San Antonio, it feels only right to put a bow on this rollercoaster of a regular season by ranking Denver’s craziest games. What started as a top-10 list ended up expanding to 15. These were the highlights and lowlights of 2025-26.

15. Nuggets 134, Hawks 133, Dec. 5, Atlanta

Nikola Jokic recently chose “inconsistent” as the word to describe his season. This wacky night in Atlanta captured all the dramatic fluctuations, making it the perfect place to begin this countdown. Jokic missed 11 of his 13 shots in the first half. He played like a “sissy,” he said afterward. He decided at halftime that “if we were going to lose, at least I’m gonna give a fight.” He proceeded to make 11 of 13 shots in the second half, scoring 30 of his 40 points to lead Denver’s third-largest comeback win in franchise history (down 23). The weirdest part: The Nuggets also went on a 20-0 run without him on the court. In the last six years dating back to Jokic’s first MVP season, they’re 9-79 when they lose his minutes by more than five points (playoffs included). This was the worst plus-minus game of his entire prime (minus-15) that they’ve have won.

14. Mavericks 131, Nuggets 130, Dec. 23, Dallas

In hindsight, David Adelman has cited the final sequence of this game as one of his favorite moments of the season. Playing a two-man game with Jamal Murray, Jokic caught a pass at the free-throw line and stepped through the paint. As he left his feet, it appeared he was about to attempt a game-winning floater. Instead, he clocked the five — yes, all five — defenders collapsing to him in the lane and whipped a pass to Peyton Watson in the weak-side corner. It was a wide-open 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Watson missed it. Adelman adamantly defended Jokic’s split-second decision, which was scrutinized even by the first-year coach’s friends. Less than a month later, Watson earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors. His breakout season as a scorer has been pivotal for Denver. Before any of that, he had a vote of trust from his team’s best player.

13. Nuggets 102, Bucks 100, Jan. 23, Milwaukee

The Nuggets stumbled out of Milwaukee with an unlikely win that probably contributed to escalating tensions between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks before the trade deadline. Aaron Gordon was Denver’s only starter available that night, and he reinjured his hamstring before halftime, leaving the team without seven rotation players as it tried to protect a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo led his hapless team on a 34-13 run, only to limp off with a calf strain with 34 seconds left. How did the Nuggets hold on? “Time ran out,” Adelman said bluntly.

12. Pistons 109, Nuggets 107, Jan. 27, Denver

You will probably never see a basketball game end like this again: The Pistons foul Murray in the act of shooting �ٷɾ�������on desperate game-tying 3-point attempts in the last 3.5 seconds, offering Denver a lifeline. And both times, an 89% foul shooter fails to capitalize, missing one of his three free throws. Murray’s teammates were quick to forgive him after an outstanding month in which he led Denver without Jokic in the lineup. He was hard on himself. “If I could just make a free throw, maybe hit rim in the first half,” he said, “it would be lovely.”

11. Nuggets 128, Rockets 125 (OT), Dec. 15, Denver

Perhaps the most consequential officiating moment of Denver’s season occurred with 2.3 seconds left in regulation, when the Nuggets trailed by one and needed to score on a last-ditch sideline inbound play. Tim Hardaway Jr. fell before the ball was passed in, earning a whistle for a dead-ball foul. Replay review determined that he had just barely tripped over the shin of Rockets’ wing Amen Thompson, a soft letter-of-the-law foul that resulted in an automatic free throw. “Most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said afterward. “Two (of the refs) have no business being out there, and the crew chief (Zach Zarba) was acting starstruck.” Alperen Sengun missed a game-tying 3-pointer late in overtime, and Denver held on despite Jokic fouling out with 90 seconds left. If Hardaway hadn’t sold the call, the playoff seeding picture from third to fifth could look different.

10. Nuggets 137, Trail Blazers 132 (OT), April 6, Denver

The Nuggets provided the highlight of their recent 11-game win streak with a rousing 16-point comeback in the last nine minutes of regulation to beat the Blazers, who had one of the luckiest shooting performances in recent NBA history. Coming into Denver, they ranked 29th in the league in 3-point percentage with an 80-game sample as evidence of their inefficiency. Denver’s game plan was to close out short and be the second to leave the ground. Portland went 25 for 52 from deep. It went to waste.

9. Nuggets 106, Raptors 103, Dec. 31, Toronto

Behold, a war of attrition for the ages. This game began as Denver’s first without Jokic, who had hyperextended his knee two nights earlier. By the end, the Nuggets needed a miracle. Backup center Jonas Valanciunas joined Jokic in the infirmary after suffering an injury in the third quarter. It left Denver without a traditional five-man for multiple weeks. DaRon Holmes II was suddenly playing his first career minutes outside of garbage time. In a tight road game. Against a playoff team. Denver and Toronto combined to shoot a whopping 6 for 33 in the last eight and a half minutes. It ended in the most fitting and most ironic way possible: Bruce Brown missed two consecutive free throws with 2.7 seconds left when he only needed one to clinch the game, and the Raptors went the length of the floor off the rebound to hit an incredible buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Just as it seemed the game was going to stretch into 2026, it turned out the ball was still on Brandon Ingram’s fingertips when the clock struck midnight. The one shot that went in for Toronto didn’t count, and Denver had pulled off a tone-setting win for life without Jokic.

8. Knicks 134, Nuggets 127 (2OT), Feb. 4, New York

This one will be remembered for Jokic playing 44 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back, less than a week after returning from his injury. He had already blown past his minutes restriction by the end of regulation at Madison Square Garden. By then, Adelman was in too deep. “There was an ‘I don’t care’ factor once it got to overtime,” he said after the loss. Christian Braun drew a foul at the buzzer of OT and buried two clutch free throws to force a second, but all that did in the end was add to Jokic’s exorbitant playing time. “That was a really fun game,” Jamal Murray said. So fun that he didn’t even notice when Peyton Watson limped off with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for six weeks.

7. Thunder 127, Nuggets 121 (OT), Feb. 27, Oklahoma City

Joker v. Dort. The flagrant foul that ignited a rivalry and the “necessary reaction” . Jokic’s death stare was an instant classic. The game was pretty spectacular, too. But NBA fans years from now might not even remember it went to overtime.

6. Warriors 137, Nuggets 131 (OT), Oct. 23, San Francisco

At its core, this was a legendary duel between Steph Curry and … Aaron Gordon? Fun fact: AG is the only player in Nuggets history to ever average 50 points per game at any point in a season. He broke Alex English’s franchise scoring record in a season opener (47), going 10 for 11 from 3-point range in one of the most mesmerizing heat checks you’ll ever see by a role player. But opening night was the worst possible time to visit Golden State, before injuries took their toll on a geriatric Warriors team. Curry scored their last 13 points of regulation, punctuated by a ridiculous game-tying 35-footer. A game like this was appropriate foreshadowing for the type of season that was in store. It’s stupid that it’s this low on the list.

5. Nuggets 136, Spurs 134 (OT), April 4, Denver

An 11-point Nuggets comeback in the fourth quarter, a pair of magical Jokic shots in the last minute of overtime and, in general, the most epic battle yet between Jokic and Victor Wembanyama. This was hooping of the highest order, quite possibly the best game of the NBA season if not the craziest.

4. Thunder 129, Nuggets 126, March 9, Oklahoma City

It was basketball serendipity that Denver and OKC had a rematch slated 10 days after the incident between Jokic and Dort. Naturally, that rematch became perhaps the most anticipated game of Denver’s season, aided by the bad blood that continued to linger in public comments made by the Nuggets. Dort eventually apologized, and the whole saga finally simmered. But the game still lived up to the hype. Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combined to score 15 points in the last 73 seconds of this MVP referendum, which ended with a Denver miracle wiped out. Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly sealed the win for OKC when he buried a 3-pointer to go up four with 12 seconds left. But the Nuggets answered with a brilliant inbound play design to get Jokic a quick shot. Jaylin Williams plowed through a screening Murray as Jokic drained a triple, enabling the Nuggets to tie it with a fortuitous 4-point play. Then SGA got the last word.

3. Lakers 127, Nuggets 125 (OT), March 14, Los Angeles

Denver’s misfortune in clutch time reached a nadir in Los Angeles, where Austin Reaves rebounded his own intentionally missed free throw to force overtime. It was the wildest single play of this Nuggets season, and they were on the wrong end of it. They were also helpless to prevent Luka Doncic from hitting a game-winner in the last second of OT. Denver had a foul to give on the play, but Spencer Jones didn’t use it. His emergence has been a breath of fresh air for the Nuggets this season. This was a tough learning moment for the young wing. Forgotten in all the chaos of the Reaves play: Jokic threw one of his best passes of the year to find Hardaway for what should have been the game-winning shot in regulation.

2. Nuggets 142, Timberwolves 138 (OT), Dec. 25, Denver

Christmas classic. Just an absolutely bonkers rivalry game. The Nuggets led 106-91 with five minutes to go and 113-107 with 35 seconds. They trailed 124-115 with three minutes left in overtime. There was Anthony Edwards brashly asking Watson if the Nuggets planned to foul up three at the end of regulation, before draining an incredible shot to force overtime. Then there was Jokic scoring an NBA record 18 points in the extra period to fuel Denver’s comeback. He finished the game with 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, matching the second-highest scoring game of his career. “They’re gonna show this game (on TV) 20 years from now,” Adelman said, “and I’ll crack open a beer and watch it.” How about another four to seven of those games later this month? Nuggets fans might prefer a cigarette.

1. Nuggets 125, 76ers 124 (OT), Jan. 5, Philadelphia

Being in the arena for this felt like watching a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament pour its heart out to compete with a No. 2 seed. Every minute the game stays close, the more you’re convinced the upset might actually be possible. Denver was missing seven rotation players, all five starters, both centers. It was the second game of a back-to-back near the end of the longest road trip of the season. It was Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson vs. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. It was 98-89 Sixers early in the fourth quarter. In overtime, it was Philly ball with a one-point lead and a six-second clock differential. The Nuggets shocked the NBA world with their defense, with a Bruce Brown fast break and with a tip from the supercomputer mind of Jokic, a bystander on the bench. The team went on to finish 10-6 in a month without Jokic. No other regular-season moment could replicate the emotions of this win.

You may have forgotten about Jan. 3, 2025. The night Victor Wembanyama played his 100th NBA game. The night he blocked Jokic’s most un-blockable shot during a 1-on-1, winner-take-all possession. The night it became clear just how fast “Wemby” was gaining on the world’s best basketball player.

Jokic was here, in the Ball Arena press room 15 months later, to remind you. After reminding the NBA world that his Sombor Shuffle is alive and well.

“If you guys remember two years ago or whatever, he actually blocked the same type of shot,” Jokic said. “… I kind of threw it away, and we lost the game. So I think it was nothing different (this time). Maybe I just created a little more space. Who knows?”

The turnaround, fading, high-arcing jumper off one leg is usually Jokic’s fail safe, his escape hatch from awkward spots on the court — catapulted from that unorthodox and impenetrable shooting pocket behind his head, reserved for when he’s up against the most formidable defenders and the clock. Many of the great shot blockers of this generation have fallen victim to it, from Giannis Antetokounmpo to Anthony Davis, from Rudy Gobert to Chet Holmgren.

But not Wembanyama. Until April 4, 2026, the lasting memory between these transcendent but antithetical bigs was that of Jokic’s signature shot thwarted. On that night 15 months ago, the French wunderkind accomplished a feat none of the others could, forcing Jokic to give up on the Sombor mid-shuffle with a close-out that practically reached into the upper deck. Recognizing he was about to be swatted, Jokic tried to sling an impromptu pass out of his shooting form — a panicked decision and a game-ending turnover.

He couldn’t allow the flashback to consume him in the heat of the moment Saturday, as he challenged Wembanyama 1-on-1 with a minute left in overtime and the Nuggets leading by two. “If that goes through my mind,” he said afterward, “we’re in big trouble.” But he had kept the bad memory compartmentalized somewhere in there, deep in the competitive archives of his brain. Jokic dropped his right shoulder into Wembanyama, spun away from a stunting second defender on his left pivot foot, then planted his right at the elbow for take-off. It was a 15-footer over a 10-foot obstacle. Not even Wembanyama could guard it this time.

“Let it fly and enjoy the moment,” Jokic said, quoting former teammate Mike Miller. “And hopefully it’s gonna go in.”

Denver’s 136-134 win over the Spurs had everything a great NBA game can hope for. Both coaches moved their chess pieces around the board, cross-matching centers on non-shooters and wings on centers, desperate to dodge foul trouble or eager to exploit a weak link. Unsung heroes emerged from those schematic decisions, with San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie and Denver’s Christian Braun combining to go 11-for-20 from the 3-point line.

Stars made sacrificial effort plays that could convince most spectators this was a playoff showdown — Jamal Murray diving into the second row to save a loose ball, Aaron Gordon developing a limp then playing through it to guard De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama on game-deciding possessions. Officiating became an incendiary subplot; controversial calls and no-calls stirred the pot in the first half without ever completely derailing the game once Denver and San Antonio got down to business later.

“The crowd is into it. The referees are into it. The benches are into it,” Cam Johnson said. “So the theater is there.”

But the pounding heart of this regular-season classic was something simpler, the human drama of sports reduced to its most digestible form. A direct showdown between basketball’s most awe-inspiring offensive artist and its most gravity-defying defensive acrobat. There is perhaps no more compelling 1-on-1 matchup in sports today than Jokic trying to score over Wembanyama, Wembanyama trying to block Jokic.

“I think the first time I played against him, I told you guys that he’s gonna change the league, he was gonna change basketball,” Jokic said. “I still think that. And I think he has an opportunity, a chance to be the most unique basketball player to ever play the game.”

On the handful of occasions in each game between them when Jokic catches at the elbow and his teammates clear out, an anxious hush invariably falls over a buzzing arena. Every eye is rapt for the next three to eight seconds. It’s Alcaraz unfurling a drop shot and Sinner giving pursuit toward the net; Ohtani pitching to Judge with a full count.

“It����ap good for sports,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “The way they both do it is completely different, and at the same time, it����ap its own unique, awesome thing. You’re not gonna see two people like this in many generations.”

Both are super-human in their own ways, one physically, one cerebrally, and both are competitive beyond imagination. Both have walked away from battles licking their wounds. And Saturday — their first clash this season — still felt like the beginning of their rivalry. They’ve faced off only seven times. Wembanyama has traded in rising stardom for MVP candidacy this year, signaling the start of his prime. They haven’t had an opportunity to duel in a playoff series yet, because this month will be Wemby’s playoff debut after an expedited rebuild in San Antonio.

“Looking forward to doing that again,” he said Saturday. He finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks in the loss. It was only the second taste of defeat he has experienced since the start of February.

“I think it was an amazing game,” Wembanyama reflected. “Very fun. One of the most fun games. I wish we could have closed it out. My conclusion from this game is that it’s good for us.”

The Spurs were starting to seem invincible with him in the lineup. The Nuggets revealed they aren’t. As Jokic found out on Jan. 3, 2025, sometimes it’s healthy to learn that about yourself.

Especially after watching hockey’s biggest best-on-best international tournament in years. It was some of the most phenomenal theater to come out of the 2026 Milan/Cortina Olympics — NHL stars competing for their national teams in a stirring tournament that peaked with overtime in the gold medal game.

It got me thinking about 2028, admittedly. About all the NBA stars set to converge in Los Angeles at the next Summer Olympics. Momentum is at an all-time high for international basketball after the Paris Games in 2024. Team USA defended its crown, but the world showed how much the gap has closed. Arguably, the five best players on the planet right now are all international.

So forgive me for indulging in a bit of heavy speculation this week. I took a crack at ranking the best national teams by what they might look like in 2028, using  to guess the 12 squads that might make the tournament at Intuit Dome. (There must be at least two teams from the Americas, two from Europe, one from Asia, one from Africa and one from Oceania.) Will it be a revenge tour for Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray?

1. USA

Sure, the world is catching up. But spend 10 minutes trying to piece together who Team USA’s 12 should be for the next Olympics and you’ll still give yourself a headache. What����ap clear is that a changing of the guard is in store, with the apparent exception of international basketball’s GOAT, Kevin Durant. My best stab at a starting lineup right now includes two guys who haven’t even played this year: Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Cooper Flagg, Jayson Tatum and Chet Holmgren. That gives you defensive credibility at two through five, scoring punch from different spots on the floor and an elite table-setter whose recent Indiana heroics shouldn’t be forgotten just because other American guards have demanded the spotlight during his Achilles rehab.

About those guards: Is there room for Haliburton, Edwards, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brunson on this roster? What about the burgeoning Kon Knueppel? Team USA needs glue guys and size to compete with certain European frontcourts. Bam Adebayo and Joel Embiid are the incumbent bigs, but I can be convinced that Evan Mobley and/or Jalen Duren will be ready to replace them by 2028, in addition to Holmgren. This remains the only national team that will have star NBA players miss the cut based on merit.

2. Canada

The Canadians were supposed to be Team USA’s most dangerous challenger in Paris. Instead, they crashed and burned before the medal round, never giving themselves a chance to face off against their neighbors. On paper, Canada still looks just as good, if not better, for 2028. How many MVP trophies will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander own by then? He turns 30 two days before the opening ceremony. Jamal Murray will be 31. Andrew Nembhard, Benedict Mathurin and Shaedon Sharpe could be the most talented bench trio in the tournament outside of Team USA. RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks, who are having a career year in Phoenix right now, should still be solid on the wings. But will the roster have a legit center this time? Zach Edey’s health might be the biggest X-factor in the entire field.

3. France

Canada and France provided a compelling battle of juxtaposing strengths and weaknesses when they met in the 2024 quarterfinals. The bigger team won. Since then, the canyon between France’s frontcourt and backcourt talent has seemingly only widened. Wemby has already developed into an MVP candidate and driving force of an NBA title contender. Rudy Gobert’s defensive impact has not yet faded. Alex Sarr entered the league as a No. 2 overall pick and established himself as the Wizards’ starting center. Former second-round draft pick Moussa Diabate broke out this season as Charlotte’s best five-man. Guerschon Yabusele leveraged his success at the Olympics to revive his career and sneak back into the NBA. That’s not to mention a handful of unproven forwards who’ve been lottery picks, including Zaccharie Risacher, Noa Essengue and Tidjane Salaun.

The defending silver medalists should lean into their strength and try every possible double-big combination when they play international exhibitions leading up to Los Angeles. In the meantime, they have two years to figure out who their best guards and wings are, now that the Evan Fournier-Nic Batum generation has aged out. Nolan Traore? Bilal Coulibaly? Pacome Dadiet?

4. Serbia

It feels unfair to rank Serbia this low after nearly knocking off Team USA in the greatest international basketball game ever played. But a few key developmental variables have stalled halfway through the four-year interval between Olympic tournaments.

Nikola Topic, a 6-foot-6 point guard drafted 12th overall in 2024 but left off the Olympic roster that summer, has overcome a torn ACL and testicular cancer just to finally debut in the NBA this month. His progress over the next couple of seasons will be crucial. Nikola Jovic, a Heat wing who came off the bench for Serbia in Paris, has regressed to a 27% outside shooting clip this season. His playing time has taken a dip in Miami. The Hawks recently waived Nikola Djurisic, a recent second-round pick.

Serbia has a perennially healthy pipeline of teenage talent on the way and a solid cast of national team veterans like Aleksa Avramovic and Filip Petrusev, but the point is — at this particular snapshot in time — there are more unknowns than we might have expected two years ago with the youth movement.

Team captain Bogdan Bogdanovic might have one more run in him at Intuit Dome, where he currently plays his home games, but he’ll be turning 36 that summer. His play has already started to decline in the NBA. Jokic will surely tie it all together, but even he might not be the consensus best player in the world anymore by 2028. You can count on this: After experiencing heartbreak and elation in Paris, he will be highly motivated for possibly the last Olympic tournament of his prime.

5. Germany

Dennis Schroder might age in the NBA, but his youth is eternal when he plays by FIBA’s rules. Franz Wagner provides the NBA star power. Isaiah Hartenstein could anchor the starting lineup if he signs on to play. Former CU Buff Tristan da Silva figures to be a big part of Germany’s future.

6. Australia

Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels — the Great Barrier Thief! — form a dangerous guard duo. But can Jock Landale and Rocco Zikarsky hang with some of the world’s best big men?

7. Greece

Giannis Antetokounmpo has never had particularly memorable supporting casts on his national team, but one interesting storyline to watch in the next few months is the commitment of Andrej Stojakovic. His mother is Greek (he was born there). His father is Peja Stojakovic, a former NBA All-Star who played for Rick Adelman in Sacramento. Andrej is eligible to play for Greece or Serbia. Right now, he’s in college at 10th-ranked Illinois, which has become a haven for European prospects.

8. Turkey

Led by Rockets center Alperen “Baby Jokic” Sengun (he’s getting a little tired of the nickname) and former NBA guard Shane Larkin (son of Baseball Hall of Famer Barry), Turkey knocked off Jokic and Serbia last summer at EuroBasket. Larkin will certainly be past his prime in 2028, but Turkey has a bright future with the opportunity to build around Sengun.

9. Slovenia

Here’s hoping Slovenia makes the cut. It’s another country that fell short in 2024. The tournament will be better with Luka Doncic in it, especially in the NBA city he now calls home.

10. Lithuania

After failing to qualify for Paris, this might be the last Olympic cycle for Nuggets backup center Jonas Valanciunas, who will be 36 during the Los Angeles Games. Lithuania reached the quarterfinals of EuroBasket last year, and that was without Bulls wing Matas Buzelis and Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionas.

11. Japan

Frankly, it would be better for the overall competition if Turkey could count as the team from Asia, and then one of the sleepers listed below would probably make it over Japan. But Turkey is officially categorized as European, despite being geographically located in both continents. That means Japan slips into the field at No. 22 in FIBA rankings.

I mean no disrespect toward Japan’s talent pool, of course. If I can break the fourth wall: One of the best live basketball experiences of my life was my 2024 vacation excursion to Lille, France, to watch the hosts take on Japan in a group stage game. Despite legendary performances by Rui Hachimura and Yuki Kawamura, France won in overtime with help from a rather friendly home whistle. (Hachimura’s ejection for arguing? That game-tying 4-point play call? Come on.) I’m rooting for Japan to get the justice it deserves in LA, if it makes it.

12. South Sudan

With Luol Deng serving as president of the country’s basketball federation, South Sudan has been a slow and steady success story in international hoops, culminating with a near-upset of Team USA in a pre-Olympic 2024 exhibition. (LeBron James played spoiler with a game-winning layup.) Suns rookie center Khaman Maluach, still 19 and drafted 10th last year, is the .

Sleepers: Jamaica, Cameroon, Spain, Argentina, Finland, Puerto Rico

There’s been speculation about whether Amen and Ausar Thompson might seek citizenship in Jamaica, where their dad is from, to play international hoops together. They would join Norman Powell, a compelling foundation. I’ve always thought it would be cool to see Embiid and Pascal Siakam team up for Cameroon in the Olympics, but that would require Embiid choosing to seek a national team change and FIBA allowing it. Spain and Argentina are the highest-ranked teams (according to FIBA) that didn’t appear on this list. And Finland is fresh off a semifinal run at EuroBasket led by Jazz star Lauri Markkanen.

Victor Wembanyama is no longer the future. The San Antonio Spurs center is the present. And he is not going anywhere.

This is getting ridiculous. It is getting old.

The top superstars keep getting younger. And the Nuggets keep getting injured.

They began play in October with the best chance to knock off Oklahoma City. They moved on from Michael Porter Jr., and conducted a mini reno on their roster.

Yet after Denver crumbled in a 115-114 loss to the Clippers on Thursday night, their championship hopes are on the ropes. With 26 games remaining, there is no reason to believe they will usurp OKC for the No. 1 seed or the Spurs for the second spot.

The Nuggets are knee-deep in their golden era. They have qualified for the playoffs seven consecutive seasons, advancing past the second round six times, and winning the franchise’s lone championship in 2023.

No one will ever forget that season. But we can’t live in that screenshot forever.

We did not expect a dynasty. But a single chapter in history?

That is not enough. Not with Nikola Jokic in his prime.

“I hope the Nuggets do get another one,” former Nuggets coach George Karl said Wednesday night at the screening of “Soul Power,” a project he brought to life to bring attention to the ABA. “It is a total failure if they don’t.”

Extreme? Maybe.

But not as much as you might think with Jokic turning 31 on Thursday. No player has won MVP at age 30 or older since Steve Nash in 2006. Jokic will have a case, but his 16 games missed will make it difficult to overcome. As will Wembanyama.

In our haste to let Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keep the trophy, we failed to remember that objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. The Spurs sit 2.5 games back from the Thunder.

Would anyone be surprised if they overtake OKC? They are 4-1 against them, a record traced to their 7-foot-5-inch wunderkind.

Wembanyama is going to win Defensive Player of the Year. The only question is whether he will add MVP honors.

Which brings us back to the Nuggets. And their new reality.

How many more hamstrings can they pull? How many more knees can they bruise? How many more times can they fade in the clutch?

They have won 35 of their first 56 games and posted a 10-6 mark without Jokic. It has led to the knee-jerk response that they can claim a title if they ever heal.

Are we sure about that?

They have issues, ranking first in offensive efficiency in wins, but last in defensive efficiency in defeats. They must get more offensive rebounds and turn over opponents at a higher rate.

They don’t look like champions without Aaron Gordon. We get it.

The uncomfortable truth is that we don’t know when Gordon will return — he resumed practicing this week — and how he will perform when he does. Or for how long.

Denver is not going to improve significantly on defense without Gordon and Peyton Watson.

Thus, the injury excuse is on a platter. Eat it up.

It was much easier to stomach when the indigestion was only caused by the Thunder. That is no longer the case. The Spurs are a legitimate title threat. Whether this is LeBron James’ last season or not, Wembanyama is the new face of the league.

He plays chess in Central Park. And reads books in between starts.

He is averaging 24.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. He is shooting 36.3% from 3. He has Steph Curry’s range in Ralph Sampson’s body.

He singlehandedly made the All-Star Game competitive.

We consider Jokic a unicorn. You know what Jokic calls Wembanyama? An alien. When Jokic had the 22-year-old — yes, 22 — autograph a jersey last week, he insisted Wemby draw a bug-eyed head under his signature.

Still wonder why championships could become foreign to the Nuggets?

How many more times can they come up short before we look at them and see the Milwaukee Bucks?

The good news is that Jokic avoids drama, unlike Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose name surfaces at every trade deadline and who, now more than ever, seems open to leaving as a free agent.

Nobody wants this for the Nuggets. But we have to stop telling ourselves everything is OK. Jokic deserves better.

Look at how the last minute unfolded against the Clippers.

Tim Hardaway Jr. committed an unnecessary foul with 24 seconds remaining and 19 seconds on the shot clock. Cam Johnson and Jokic had a communication breakdown moments later as Brook Lopez caught a full court inbounds pass for a layup. And in Jamal Murray vs. The Wall, the Wall of fans won. The All-Star failed to convert three free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining after coach David Adelman’s substitutions following the second make iced him.

It was a tease. Much like the last two seasons as a contender unable to escape the second round. The Nuggets remodeled their bench, but did not realize they needed to add an en suite to the trainer’s room.

Some of that is awful luck. But nobody cares when a team’s best players get hurt.

With the league’s toughest second-half schedule, the race is on for the Nuggets. To get well. To get better. To finish late.

They face the Thunder and Spurs three times apiece over the next seven weeks, including four on the road. These games will not only determine seeding, but whether we should we continue believing.

The Nuggets, when healthy, have a chance to raise another banner.

It����ap time they act like it. Because soon, very soon, only to Victor will go the spoils.