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).

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.

Sean Keeler: When he’s right, Aaron Gordon is the All he does is win, win, win, no matter what. But there’s one factor he can’t charge: karma. Every time David Adelman’s crew takes a step forward, it feels as if the hoops gods cock their heads, laugh maniacally, and decide to set them a half-step back. (See: Murray, Jamal.) Any Nuggets team with AG in it is a team worth taking seriously. But I’ve also watched them stumble against good NBA rosters, playoff rosters, too many times lately to trust the vibes. I also can’t get one image out of my head from Sunday: Nathan MacKinnon smiling. Like, actually, unabashedly smiling. A man embracing the sheer joy of the game, in the moment, for everybody to see. If Naz Kadri could bring that much light to the most serious man in hockey, hey, forget the Stanley Cup, dude. Give Naz the Nobel Prize for sunshine.

Renck: Gordon cannot save the Nuggets’ season. At least not alone. That is becoming obvious since every day brings another co-pay on a visit to the trainer’s room. Denver has the talent to compete for a championship, but lacks health and grit. The Nuggets were supposed to unseat OKC. Clearly, that role has shifted to the Spurs. Gordon needs to become Jayson Tatum, who seamlessly rejoined the Celtics. Gordon delivered an awful performance on Friday night against the Knicks. He is too good to play like this. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. But time is running out on what is becoming an underwhelming season.

Keeler: I was stoked for that Knicks tussle — until about midway through the second quarter. It’s not fair to ask AG to hit the ground running on a bad hammy, but that’s the hole the Nuggets find themselves in down the stretch run. There’s just so little margin for error right now. Denver woke up Monday as the 6 seed in the West with a 39-25 mark. Everything’s changed so much on Chopper Circle since April 7, and yet it’s not always changing for the better. This is a roster that, on talent and reputation, should be able to kick it into another gear. Yet there’s just something wrong with the suspension right now. You fix a flat tire, the bumper falls off. Again: karma.

Renck: At 35, Kadri should be on the other side of his career. Instead, he looks energized. Has there ever been a better Avs’ fit in a deadline deal? He plays his best when the game is big, physical, mean, gritty. He wants all the smoke. The Nuggets’ season will go up in smoke if Gordon fails to provide an edge, toughness, defense and slow-heartbeat 3-pointers. Kadri has the advantage of joining a team that is so loaded that anything less than a Stanley Cup appearance will demand an investigation. This is what was thought about Gordon and the Nuggets a few months ago. But everything about this season feels off, wrong. Gordon has a month to make it right.

Keeler: It’s going to be an interesting month, my friend. Kadri is like AG in that his return, for the most part, brings back the happiest of memories. He’s unlike AG in that the team he rejoined is a 1 seed, absolutely cruising and, as opposed to their basketball counterparts, just built up a little more separation with shootout wins over their closest division rivals. Talking to Naz at his locker stall on Sunday, the man looked genuinely happy to be here. But not as happy as MacKinnon was to share the ice with him. Logan O’Connor, Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen are working their way back, too. It’s no wonder the smiles in the Colorado locker room feel awfully contagious right now.

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.

If his knee allows it, the Nuggets center is pretty much a lock to be sent to Los Angeles for an eighth consecutive All-Star Game on Feb. 15, when he will definitely be thrilled to be part of the festivities.

The voting window for the 2025-26 NBA All-Stars ended Wednesday, and the results will be of particular interest in Denver this year — even with Jokic’s inclusion being anticlimactic. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, long regarded as one of the best players in the league without All-Star recognition, has made a strong case to finally get over the hump with his best statistical start to a season.

Has he done enough in an unfairly competitive Western Conference? Despite the format of the “game” itself undergoing another sweeping overhaul — the 24 All-Stars will be divided into two eight-man U.S. teams and a world team to compete in a round-robin tournament — the league still wants to adhere to tradition in the selection process. Twelve All-Stars from each conference. Five from each recognized as “starters” in name only.

Voting on those starters is position-less and broken down into three factions. Fan submissions count for 50% of the vote, a media panel counts for 25% and players count for 25%. The seven “reserves” from each conference are then chosen by head coaches. Starters are announced Monday; reserves on Feb. 1.

Here is my official starters ballot, as well as my informal picks on who I think should earn the reserve spots.

Western Conference All-Star picks

Starters: Luka Doncic (LAL), Anthony Edwards (MIN), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), Nikola Jokic (DEN), Victor Wembanyama (SAS).

I found myself choosing between six players for five spots in both conferences. The difficult exclusion in the West pretty clearly came down to Edwards and Steph Curry. They’re about as deadlocked as it gets, but I ultimately used Ant Man’s efficiency in the clutch as my tiebreaker. His timely shot-making has elevated Minnesota a tier above Golden State in the conference hierarchy: When I submitted my ballot, he was shooting 70.7% from the field in “clutch time” (to Curry’s 43.8%) and 57.1% from the 3-point line, helping the Wolves to a 9-5 record and 9.4 net rating in those situations. (The Nuggets experienced it even in a game they eventually won on Christmas.) The Warriors were 6-9 with a minus-11.4 net rating in clutch games with Curry playing.

The other four starters were no-brainers. Remember, there’s no minimum on games played for All-Star qualification, allowing voter discretion on superstars who’ve been hurt like Jokic and Wembanyama — the league’s best offensive and defensive players, respectively.

Reserves: Deni Avdija (POR), Steph Curry (GSW), Kevin Durant (HOU), Chet Holmgren (OKC), Kawhi Leonard (LAC), Jamal Murray (DEN), Julius Randle (MIN).

This is truly a cutthroat race. Yet I found Murray to be a no-doubter as I went through my list of candidates. Of the 64 players who’ve taken 200 or more 3s this season, he leads the NBA with a 44.6% clip on 285 attempts. His decision-making has been crisp. His passing placement has continued to be an underrated aspect of his game. And aside from the career-high numbers across the board, Murray has cemented his status as a deserving All-Star by leading the Nuggets through this stretch without Jokic.

There’s no way to justify selecting only one player from Oklahoma City, and I think Holmgren is a worthy second choice from the Thunder’s repository of talent. He’s one of the most valuable defenders in the league, and his offensive game has steadily expanded this season with a bit more off-the-dribble work and a 6.7% improvement in true shooting. (He now ranks eighth in the NBA in that category.)

Minnesota is the other team with two players listed here. I had Houston’s Alperen Sengun penciled in at first, but Randle stole the spot from him at the last minute. Their numbers are pretty comparable, but I just think Randle has been a little more essential to the offense of a team that I think is a little better than Houston. The Wolves actually have an 11.6 net rating when Randle is on the floor and Edwards isn’t. He stretches the floor a bit more reliably than Sengun. And assist-to-turnover ratio has to matter eventually if you’re the play-making hub of an offense. Sengun’s is 1.97. (Side note: Rudy Gobert has been excellent for Minnesota and also crossed my mind as an option.)

If All-Star selection didn’t support the facade of conference equality, then Sengun would absolutely be one of my 24 players. In general, my ballot would skew pretty heavily in favor of the West. I hated having to choose between players on lesser teams (Leonard, Avdija) and one particular guy on a more successful squad — I’ll get to him later. Ultimately, I decided Leonard and Avdija have simply been too good to leave out, elevating the Clippers and Blazers into much more competitive territory.

Eastern Conference All-Star picks

���ٲ����ٱ����:��Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Jaylen Brown (BOS), Cade Cunningham (DET), Tyrese Maxey (PHL), Donovan Mitchell (CLE).

I’m sure the exclusion of Brunson will put me in the minority of voters. I took no pleasure in it, but I just had a hard time making a case for him over any of these candidates as I went one by one. Mitchell might be the most popular choice on the chopping block, largely because of Cleveland’s underwhelming first half of the season as a team. But the patron statistic of Nuggets fans defending Jokic’s honor over the years has been on/off net rating differential, and Mitchell’s is the second-highest in the league right now (behind Jokic) at 14.8.

That’s far from an ironclad measurement of individual impact, but I do think it’s revealing that Cleveland’s 8.4 net with “Spida” on the floor would be second-best in the NBA. He has also attempted the most valuable shot in the sport (the three) more times than anyone else in the league at a 39% clip.

The player I was closest to swapping out for Brunson was Brown, but I couldn’t get myself there. The scoring responsibility he shouldered to get the Celtics to second in the East without Jayson Tatum is one of the defining stories of this NBA season, not to mention his efficiency and his on-ball defense.

Reserves: Scottie Barnes (TOR), Jalen Brunson (NYK), Jalen Duren (DET), Jalen Johnson (ATL), Michael Porter Jr. (BKN), Norman Powell (MIA), Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK).

Look, this isn’t the most inspiring list you’ll ever see. The standards are just different in the East right now. I found myself choosing between a few guys performing below their preseason expectations toward the end — Towns, Evan Mobley, Desmond Bane. I also flirted with a couple of elite role players, including OG Anunoby and Derrick White, before settling on what’s probably a somewhat chalky set of picks.

Props to MPJ for what’s likely to be his first career All-Star nod, coinciding with Murray’s. The Nets are the worst team on this entire list, but his shot-making talent has ascended to a new level with higher volume.

World Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), Deni Avdija (POR), Luka Doncic (LAL), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC), Nikola Jokic (DEN), Donovan Mitchell (CLE), Jamal Murray (DEN), Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK), Victor Wembanyama (SAS).

I’m going to finish by cheating a little. Towns and Mitchell were both born in the U.S., but they’ve said publicly they want to play for the world team because of their family roots (Dominican Republic for Towns, Panama for Mitchell). The new format requires a minimum of 16 U.S. players and eight international players, in order to field three teams for the tournament. If one or the other is short on players, then commissioner Adam Silver will pick extras to ensure both teams have enough.

Who am I to deny KAT and Mitchell? Categorizing them on the world team enables me to reward one more player with a spot: Devin Booker. The Suns guard is the frontman of one of the most surprising teams of the season, but he’s inhibited just by playing in the West. I couldn’t find a place for him in my initial 12 — would like to see more efficient shooting splits — but his overall impact on winning makes him deserving of a 25th spot.

See the full Nuggets schedule with game times and TV channels here.

October 23 – Nov. 8: Honeymoon phase

Setting the tone for an altogether choppy and inconvenient six months of travel, the Nuggets will board a plane after each of their first five games. They open at Golden State, where the Warriors — as of this week — remain the only team yet to complete an offseason move. If they eventually sign Al Horford, their starting lineup around Steph Curry will be formidable but also one of the grayest in the league, with an average age of around 36. That means the beginning of the season is probably the worst time to cross paths with them.

From there, Denver alternates between home and away for the first week. The road games aren’t easy. They include an early rivalry rematch at Minnesota and an NBA Cup opener at a plucky Portland team that might not have much else to play for later this season.

Still, this should be an energizing stretch of mile-high hoops. The roster is refurbished. The vibes are revamped. The expectations are high. And November starts with the first homestand of the season. The shiny new Nuggets should be favored in all four of those games.

Prediction: 7-2

Nov. 3 – Dec. 7: NBA Cup season

The Nuggets better enjoy that homestand while they can. It’s followed by a .

This is the team’s flight schedule between games, starting Nov. 10 (inhale): Denver to Sacramento to Los Angeles to Minnesota to Denver to New Orleans to Houston to Denver to Memphis to Denver to Phoenix to Denver to Indianapolis to Atlanta to Charlotte to Denver.

Will the Nuggets leave the oft-bruised Nikola Jokic at home to rest during any of these one-game excursions? Will they put the pedal to the metal in an effort to avoid another troubling start like last year, when they were 11-10 on Dec. 7? Will they be hammered by fatigue? Or will their new depth buoy them?

After the game in Charlotte is an opportunity to come up for air. Mid-December is now one of the lightest portions of the NBA calendar because of the in-season tournament. From Dec. 8-17, the Nuggets will play only two games with to-be-determined opponents (unless they reach the NBA Cup final). Those are impossible to predict, so let’s just call it a 1-1 split for the sake of impartiality. First, they’ll face Kevin Durant’s Rockets (Nov. 21) and Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs (Nov. 28) in a pair of marquee group stage games.

Prediction: 11-5 (18-7 overall after TBD games)

Dec. 18 – Jan. 7: Xmas, then a hangover marathon

After hosting Anthony Edwards for Christmas dinner, the Nuggets embark on just their third seven-game road trip of the Nikola Jokic era, unless you also want to count the bubble as a really, really long road trip. (They went 3-4 and 4-3 on the other two.) In fact, this is their first roadie longer than five games since February 2022.

The holiday season is tough timing, but there is a silver lining: Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando and Cleveland are the most imposing teams on a trip that spans from South Florida to Canada. Toronto is where the Nuggets will toast to the new year. Then they’ll make their way to the eastern seaboard with three highly winnable games to end the journey, at Brooklyn (hello, Michael Porter Jr.), Philadelphia (hopefully hello, Joel Embiid), and Boston (unfortunately, no hello for Jayson Tatum).

Prediction: 7-5 (25-11 overall)

Jan. 9 – Feb. 11: Through the All-Star break

Denver plays five of its league-leading 16 back-to-backs during this stretch. There’s a Wednesday ESPN tilt in Dallas right after leaving New Orleans, where the nightlife is more likely to take a toll than the Pelicans. There’s a home back-to-back against Charlotte on a lazy Sunday that might conflict with a Broncos playoff game. And there are challenging short-rest battles in store for the team’s best defenders against Giannis Antetokounmpo (Jan. 23 in Milwaukee), Kawhi Leonard (Jan. 30) and Jalen Brunson (Feb. 4).

This is around the time of year when Jamal Murray usually heats up, but Denver’s hoping he’ll already be in peak form by January this time. Will he be making a push for his first All-Star Game during these weeks?

Other notable dates: MPJ’s return to Denver (Jan. 29), the first of four OKC Thunder matchups that are all scheduled within a two-month window (Feb. 1), a travel day from New York to Chicago during the trade deadline, and home games against the Cavs and Lakers. So LeBron James should be in town for at least one of those.

Prediction: 13-6 (38-18 overall)

Feb. 19 – March 14: Dog days

Easily the most difficult portion of the schedule from a competition standpoint. In their first 13 games out of the All-Star break, the Nuggets will face the Clippers, Warriors, Thunder (twice in OKC), Timberwolves, Lakers (twice), Knicks, Rockets and Spurs. Eight of those 13 games are on the road. Four of them are back-to-backs. Eight were deemed flashy enough to warrant national broadcasts.

Pretty much every team goes through at least one slump during an 82-game season, and this is the obvious moment to project as Denver’s in 2025-26. Unfortunately, it coincides with the period of the calendar when playoff seeding begins to materialize.

Prediction: 5-8 (43-26 overall)

March 17 – April 12: “Home” stretch

There are pros and cons to ending the regular season with 10 of 13 games at home. On one hand, the Nuggets are nicely positioned to make a strong final push in the standings against some weaker competition. They should be able to enter the playoffs in a rhythm, their November jetlag left in the distant past.

On the other hand, wouldn’t it be preferable to not need a final push in the first place? New coach David Adelman has already alluded ad nauseam to the importance of being well-rested for the playoffs. His ideal outcome is probably something akin to 2022-23, when Denver’s seeding felt secure and Jokic was able to sit out five of the last seven games. That yielded pretty solid results in May and June.

The Nuggets would have a better chance of following that blueprint if the schedule were more balanced. Instead, they might be left dueling for position in early April. This home stretch includes two Portland games, two Utah games and some other easier matchups on paper. But it wraps up with the Thunder and a quick trip to San Antonio, where Devonte’ Graham broke Denver hearts in Game 81 two years ago.

Prediction: 10-3 (53-29 overall)

Jokic, 30, has made the All-NBA team seven consecutive years. He is the 29th player in league history and the sixth active player to receive First-Team honors in five seasons. The other active players in that club are Luka Doncic, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Jokic was named the MVP runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earlier this week.

This was the second year of positionless voting for All-NBA teams. Under the previous system, only one center was eligible to make each team, meaning that Jokic was Second-Team All-NBA in 2022-23 despite finishing second in MVP voting, behind 76ers center Joel Embiid.

My All-NBA ballot

Denver Post Nuggets beat writer Bennett Durando was one of the 100 voters for NBA awards this season. This was his All-NBA ballot, submitted two days after the regular season ended.

First Team: Nikola Jokic, DEN; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC; Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL; Jayson Tatum, BOS; Donovan Mitchell, CLE.

Second Team: Anthony Edwards, MIN; Steph Curry, GSW; LeBron James, LAL; Tyrese Haliburton, IND; Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK.

Third Team: Cade Cunningham, DET; Evan Mobley, CLE; Jalen Brunson, NYK; Jalen Williams, OKC; Alperen Sengun, HOU.

All-Defensive First Team: Lu Dort, OKC; Evan Mobley, CLE; Dyson Daniels, ATL; Jaren Jackson Jr., MEM; Draymond Green, GSW.

All-Defensive Second Team: Ivica Zubac, LAC; Amen Thompson, HOU; Rudy Gobert, MIN; Jalen Williams, OKC; Toumani Camara, POR.

What’s it gonna be, 27? Because right now, Nuggets Nation isn’t quite sure which Jamal Murray they’re going to get in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

We know Nikola Jokic will paint the lane the way . We know Aaron Gordon will destroy rims for fun. We know Christian Braun will become the dude the other fan base loves to hate.

We know Michael Porter Jr. will have you punching the air one minute and punching a wall the next. We know Russell Westbrook will be tough on your ticker.

But Murray?

With Game 1 against the Clippers looming on Saturday afternoon, the Nuggets’ postseason wild card is wilder than ever.

Bubble Jamal? Or Trouble Jamal?

“We know what Jamal is in the playoffs,” interim Nuggets coach and longtime assistant David Adelman told reporters earlier this week. “He’s one of the all-time greats. You can’t argue it.”

Sure can’t. But what you also can’t shake are those memories of Murray from that Minnesota series last year.

The pouts. A 3-for-18 showing in Game 2. A 4-for-18 clip in Game 6.

That slow fade in Game 7.

A guy who in 2023 made a 50-40-90 playoff stat line look so easy — and fun, especially against the Lakers — put up a 40-32-92 one last spring.

Over the Blue Arrow’s last nine playoff appearances, he’s scored 24 or more points four times, poured in 16 or fewer points three times, and … the Nuggets are 4-5.

Bubble Jamal? Or Trouble Jamal?

“(Murray) doesn’t have to chase the money,” Kenny Smith, the “Inside The NBA” analyst, told me when he visited Ball Arena last season. “Certain guys have to chase the money, OK? ‘Let me do this to get there.’ No, he’s already there. He just has to chase greatness. Which is a good place to be for him.”

And if Murray catches a heater while he’s chasing said greatness, hey — that works, too.

When No. 27’s scored 17 points or fewer in the postseason, the Nuggets are 5-12. When the Arrow’s hit for 25 points or more, the Nuggets are 19-7.

Bubble Jamal? Or Trouble Jamal?

“The intensity behind these possessions is a little higher (than in the regular season),” Murray told reporters recently. “It (often) comes down to one possession. Good starts are important for us. And valuing the ball.”

Which brings to mind another image from that Timberwolves series — and another potential speed bump.

When last we saw Murray in a playoff setting, Minnesota was giving him 94 feet of holy Hades. The Timberpups chucked body after body at No. 27’s face, straining Murray’s already-strained calf and turning even a simple jog across the timeline into a chore.

Better believe a grindy, defensive-minded bunch such as the Clippers took careful notes.

Los Angeles heads into the postseason having produced a steal on 8.5% of its defensive possessions during the regular season, the second-best takeaway rate in the NBA to Oklahoma City’s 9.0%

The Clip Show badgered Murray into three giveaways during an NBA Cup loss on Dec. 1, then another six during a rematch on Dec. 13.

Bubble Jamal? Or Trouble Jamal?

“They’re handsy. They’re getting a lot of steals,” Murray reflected. “A lot of guys are like, ‘Go get the steals.’ That’s probably the biggest thing. They probably do that better than anybody else in the league.”

When Murray’s feeling it, nobody — other than maybe Steph Curry — in the NBA Playoffs is better at spotting up and crushing souls. It’s the uncertainty and the unavailability that get to you.

Dynasties have multiple Hall of Famers carrying the torch. Murray’s injuries and intangibles have tagged him as “Hall of Very Good” for years. While Nikola Jokic’s become one of the most staggeringly consistent performers in NBA history, the Arrow’s all over the map.

The duo’s chemistry is the stuff of legend. But the coach (Michael Malone) and general manager (Calvin Booth) who helped to foster that relationship are both out of the picture.

The Joker’s 30. Someone in the Nuggets front office is going to have to take a long, hard look at how best to maximize the next four to five seasons of the best player on the planet.

Trouble Jamal is part of the problem. Bubble Jamal was paid to be part of the solution. . If the Arrow shoots the Nuggets past either one of them in the weeks to come, folks will stop bringing those salaries up.

“This is going to be a tough series for (Jamal),” Adelman said. “(The Clippers) have a lot of people to throw at him. And I think the biggest thing for us is, these guys — me, the staff — have to help Jamal. Because if we can get him free, we know what he’s capable of.”

Denver’s 6-foot-6 shooting guard received a dribble handoff from Nikola Jokic at the top of the key and turned the corner, driving with his right hand. Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez drifted across the paint and elevated in lockstep with Braun. A two-time All-Defensive team honoree, Lopez has blocked more than 2,000 shots in his career, more than any other active player. He wedged his right hand between the arms of Braun, sensing another opportunity.

But Braun has established a reputation by now. He fears no 7-footer. He climbs the ladder with anyone who dares to meet him at the top. With his sledgehammer of a right arm, he rebuked Lopez and the rim in one motion, — and enough contact for a free throw — before crashing to the baseline.

Jokic could have predicted what Braun did next.

“CB, whenever he dunks, he likes to flex,” Jokic had pointed out to reporters a few weeks earlier, poking fun at his 23-year-old teammate.

With a balance of steady dependability and searing athleticism, Braun has emerged as a contender for the NBA’s Most Improved Player trophy this season, his first as a starter for the Nuggets. He has the third-best chance to win the award, behind Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels. Cunningham is considered the resounding favorite, though his validity as a candidate altogether has also been scrutinized on the grounds that he was always supposed to take this leap as a No. 1 draft pick.

No player drafted first overall has ever won it. The winner last season, Tyrese Maxey, was drafted 21st in his class. So was Braun.

“I would hope that I’m in that mix,” he told The Denver Post. “I know there’s a lot of guys that get a lot of mentions, and they deserve it, too. But I want to be in that mix. I feel like I work hard to be in that mix. And that’s not just an individual award. I think that it shows how good those guys around me are, too.”

Braun has been earnest about his ambitions all season. When he briefly lost his spot in the starting lineup, he stated his intent to win the job back. Then he immediately did, scoring more than 20 points four times in a seven-game stretch after an injury to Russell Westbrook created an opening.

On March 2 in Boston, Braun sat for 72 seconds of game time in a hard-fought loss to the Celtics. So indispensable was his defense against Jayson Tatum that Nuggets coach Michael Malone couldn’t bring himself to rest Braun in the second half. Tatum shot 4 of 15 and committed six turnovers.

“That’s what I’ve wanted my whole life,” Braun said afterward, scoffing at any suggestion of fatigue. “That’s what I’ve asked for. Everybody in the league says they want to play more and they should play more, but I actually get the opportunity to play a lot of minutes every single night. So I’m just grateful for the opportunity. … I want to be out there every game. I want to play all 82 games.”

Was that game an indicator of how Braun should expect to be used in the playoffs? “I hope,” he said. “I hope it’s a reality. I want to play 48 minutes every night. Every single night. That’s what I want to do. I don’t like coming out.”

Maybe to a fault. Braun taught himself to grit his teeth and play through pain when he was growing up in Kansas. Instead of telling coaches when he was injured, he often waited to tell his family later. “As parents, we’re kind of old-school,” his mom said, describing their mindset as “a ‘rub some dirt on it’ kind of thing.”

“Never, when I coached him, did he sit out of a practice once,” said Ed Fritz, Braun’s high school coach. “Never once. Probably half the time when he wasn’t feeling good, he never let anybody know.”

He’s working on it. Braun probably shouldn’t have suited up for all 82 games last season, but he quietly played through wrist and leg injuries during portions of the year. He’s more intentional about his postgame recovery now, recognizing the importance of physical upkeep while contributing heavier minutes. He has even sat out two games to manage bumps and bruises, bringing his career total to nine DNPs in the NBA.

Meanwhile, his production has erupted. In his first two seasons, he posted one 20-point performance. He has 16 of them this year, highlighting a 7.9 point-per-game increase that rivals Norman Powell (9.3) and Daniels (8.3) for the largest in the NBA. His field goal percentage has improved by 11.2% despite a notable increase in volume. He’s averaging 15.2 points, five rebounds (up 35% from 2023-24), 2.4 assists (up 50%) and 1.1 steals (up 120%).

Braun is tied for the league lead in fast-break points per game with Giannis Antetokounmpo. He scores more efficiently in transition (1.31 points per possession) than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1.26), Antetokounmpo (1.25), LeBron James (1.19) Jaylen Brown (1.16) and Luka Doncic (1.14), five of the most prolific transition players in the sport .

In Denver’s halfcourt offense, Braun has made himself effective as a cutter and inverted pick-and-roll threat with Nikola Jokic. He’s shooting 39% from the 3-point line despite being overlooked by a number of opponents. He leads all NBA guards in true shooting (65.8%), ranking .

“Christian and Nikola are, I think, really close, on and off the court. They have a tremendous relationship,” Malone said. “And CB understands, ‘If I’m going to have a certain player (a weak defender) on me, I’m going to get him involved.’ And who better to get them involved with than Nikola Jokic, who’s going to make the right read every time? So Christian is much more than a five-point transition player. … His ability to knock down 3s, to rebound, to defend, but also to screen, to roll, to cut, to finish — just a complete basketball player.”

The Nuggets ended up losing in Milwaukee after Braun’s punishing dunk over Lopez. This has been an unfortunate trend for him. All of his best highlights seem to portend defeat for his team, including other poster dunks on Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Houston’s Cam Whitmore this season. The flexing has been in vain.

That’s why, after a moment that underscored Braun’s growth into a central character for the Nuggets, he couldn’t help but think it was too good to be true.

Denver and Phoenix were tied in the final seconds of regulation on March 7. As usual, Jokic set a screen for Jamal Murray, activating the two-man game that feels invincible with games on the line. But a second defender started to collapse to Jokic on the roll this time. When he caught the ball, he quickly relocated it back to the open man on the perimeter.

Braun being the player who takes the last shot for the Nuggets might’ve seemed unimaginable a year ago. Maybe that’s changing now. He knocked down the 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go. It was his first NBA game-winner. Until it wasn’t.

“I was pretty excited, obviously,” he said. “But then I was walking back (to the huddle), like, ‘This seems like a moment where I might foul somebody.'”

Almost. Kevin Durant answered with a game-tying shot at the buzzer instead.

“That,” Braun said, laughing, “is definitely something that would happen.”

Leaps and bounds

Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is the favorite to win the Most Improved Player award for 2024-25. But Nuggets guard Christian Braun has exhibited some of the most impressive across-the-board statistical improvements in the NBA as well. Here are several contenders for the award and their improvements from last season in five categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and true shooting. (Click here to view chart in mobile.)

* Year-over-year improvement in parenthesis

From his perspective, Jayson Tatum had clearly pushed off enough to warrant an offensive foul call. But the whistle didn’t intervene as Tatum stood idle on the left wing, taking a long pause before shooting, as if to savor the space he had created.

Fortunately for the Nuggets, Tatum missed the 3-pointer. But the sequence was evidence of what the Celtics believed they could accomplish against Denver’s point guard. Their scorers thrive on hunting matchups. Murray was their prey on Sunday, until he refused to allow it.

“I think for any player, you never want to be that guy that teams are targeting,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Denver’s 110-103 loss. “… I felt Jamal in the second half and we as a team in the second half, we were much more physical. We were much more resolute on that end of the floor. And I love seeing that.”

The Nuggets have players on the floor for their offense, and they have players on the floor predominantly for their defense — but not exactly a surplus of overlap. It’s a notable flaw in the rotation. Murray, of course, qualifies as the former. When he’s at his best, the superstar-caliber beauty of his ball-in-hand game is more than enough to cancel out any defensive shortcomings. Still, what he was forced to fend off in Boston was the Nuggets’ latest glimpse at what they know to expect in the playoffs.

Just as opponents are likely to dare Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson and even Christian Braun to shoot 3s in order to disrupt Denver’s spacing, they’ll be equally inclined to target perceived weaknesses at the other end. That could mean steering Murray, Nikola Jokic or Michael Porter Jr. into the action.

Murray has seen a lot of it this season.

“For sure, 100%,” he said when asked if he relishes those situations. “It’s just tough when I have four fouls, you know what I’m saying?”

Murray was frustrated by his foul trouble after the loss, but it hadn’t prevented him from standing his ground in the second half. His ability to get stops against Tatum and especially Jaylen Brown on a handful of possessions was vital to Denver’s near-comeback.

In the last seven minutes of regulation, Brown shot 0 for 4 when defended by Murray. He missed a turnaround jumper in the lane off the front of the rim after getting the smaller Murray switched onto him instead of dealing with Westbrook. He attacked another Murray switch (this time from Braun) and front-rimmed a floater. Both were affected by Murray showing physical resistance and slapping down at the ball as Brown went into his shot.

Tatum also missed a contested 3-pointer with two minutes remaining after getting the Murray switch.

“They’re going to score. They’ve got some really good players,” Malone said. “They’re defending champs for a reason. To be able to hold them to (110) points, it was a good effort.”

The Celtics were particularly keen on singling out Murray with post-ups. Those were hit and miss. Shortly after halftime, Murray was able to break up an entry pass and create a turnover when Tatum tried to seal him deep in the paint. Minutes later, he stood his ground while getting backed down by Brown long enough for Brown to get called for a travel.

Brown didn’t give up. He scored on Murray twice inside of 12 feet later in the third quarter.

“I think he’s a good defender. He is not a target, for sure. But I think collectively we need to give him a little bit of help,” Jokic said of Murray. “If somebody is backing you down who is taller and maybe stronger than you, we need to have someone to be there … so we can not just leave the guy on an island. But I think he played a special second half. I think he played really good.”

Helping is easier said than done against the Celtics, though. Nothing delights them more than a shooter left open. If posting up Murray means drawing a double-team, they’ll almost always choose to swing the ball around the perimeter for the most ideal 3-pointer.

If there’s a balance between helping and staying home that needs to be considered, though, Jokic isn’t hearing it.

“My opinion is always to help your teammate,” he said. “Even, we can be there (and) just make some noises just to get into our opponent’s head.”

, Murray is one of nine players in the league with 900 or more shot attempts defended this season as of Sunday — a testament to the pressure that teams are trying to put on him and the importance of his response to that. Opponents are 47% from the field on shots defended by him.

“You’ve got to almost take it as a sign of disrespect,” Malone said, “and do whatever you can to stop that in its tracks.”