Nikola Jokic is 12 triple-doubles away from passing Russell Westbrook for one of the NBA’s most hallowed records, and that chase lands as Denver opens another season trying to prove its window is still open. The Nuggets already won the championship in 2023, but the league around them has been restless enough to make any return feel harder than the last one.
The search around Orlando Magic vs Knicks match player stats may point fans toward another game, but the sharper number today belongs to Jokic. He led the league in rebounds and assists per game last year, and he might have taken home a fourth MVP trophy if not for the hyperextended knee he suffered in late December. He will turn 32 during the All-Star break, which only heightens the sense that every dominant stretch now carries extra weight.
Denver’s case for another run starts with continuity. It is the only team in the Western Conference rolling out the same starting lineup as last season, even though that group barely got to operate together. One starter missed 59 games, the team spent a month without Jokic, and Jamal Murray was coming off an All-NBA campaign before the season unraveled into patchwork minutes and interrupted rhythm. If the Nuggets can simply stay intact longer, that alone changes the ceiling.
Christian Braun is part of why the lineup still matters. He spent half of last season nursing a swollen ankle and the other half trying to play on it, and his 3-point shooting dropped by 9.6 percent. Denver also needs more from its newer pieces. Cam Johnson said he regretted how long it took him to adjust to the Jokic offense as a newcomer, Tim Hardaway Jr. arrives as a catch-and-shoot specialist, and DeMar DeRozan brings a very different shape to the bench because he will not shoot half as many 3s as Hardaway Jr. but should create his own shot off the dribble far more often.
There is still a simple reason this season matters. Eight different teams have won the last eight NBA championships, seven different teams have taken the Western Conference in the last seven years, and the margin for assuming a favorite has all but disappeared. Ahead of opening night in Oklahoma City on Thursday, Denver is being measured against both its past and the churn around it. Jokic’s record chase is the headline, but the real question is whether the Nuggets can keep enough of this group healthy long enough for the numbers to turn into another run at the Finals.
