Record0-02026-27
Last 10—
Net rating+5.22025-26 · ORtg 121.2 · DRtg 116.0
Pace99.5eFG% 57.7 · TS% 61.6
Injuries20 out · 0 questionable
Rumors1tagged in the last feeds
Podcast
All episodes · RSSNuggets Tip-Off · every morning · Jordan Reyes & Marcus Hale
First episode with the preseason
Your team, every morning: last night, tonight, what changed. 8–12 minutes, and Nuggets Final within half an hour of every buzzer. Subscribe to the feed and the first one arrives on its own.
The hosts
Jordan Reyes · host
Runs the show. Grew up on League Pass and box scores. Believes in the team until the numbers say otherwise, then argues with Marcus.
Marcus Hale · analyst
The numbers desk. Lineups, on/off, cap sheets. Dry, precise, allergic to hype. Keeps the receipts every Friday.
Salary cap · 2026-27
Full cap sheet$215.3M$50.4M over the $165.0M cap · 12 contracts
Jokić
Murray
Gordon
Johnson
Braun
Nikola Jokić $59.0M · Jamal Murray $50.1M · Aaron Gordon $33.7M · Cameron Johnson $23.1M
The morning briefing · free · one email a day
What changed, every morning
Last night, tonight, injuries, rumors and the standings move — for the Nuggets, before your coffee. No spam, unsubscribe in one click.
Video
All Nuggets videoROBLOX TOYS ARE GOING EXTINCT...? 🥺 (Part 2) #roblox #robloxshorts
ROBLOX TOYS ARE GOING EXTINCT... 😭 #roblox
Nuggets Sit at 0-0 as Gordon and Brazile Race the Clock Before OKC Opener
newsroom · 3 h agoDenver has not played a game yet in 2026-27, with the roster still built around Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray after Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Pickett left this offseason. Aaron Gordon and Trevon Brazile are both listed day-to-day and targeting an Oct. 1 return, giving them time to be ready for a five-game preseason slate and the regular-season opener at Oklahoma City on Oct. 22 on ESPN.
The Record Is 0-0, and That's the Whole Story
Denver has not played a game this season. The 2026-27 slate opens with a five-game preseason stretch: at Utah on Oct. 6, at home against Chicago on Oct. 11, then a three-game road trip to the Clippers on Oct. 14 and the Lakers on Oct. 16. The real opener comes Oct. 22 at Oklahoma City, on ESPN. Denver's regular season runs 80 games, with 34 of them on national television, a sign the league expects this team to matter again. Last season the Nuggets won 54 games, so there's a real bar being set for whatever comes next once the ball actually goes up in Denver's building, Ball Arena.
Who's Gone: Watson, Hardaway Jr. and Pickett
Three players who wore Denver's colors last season are elsewhere now. Peyton Watson is with the Cavaliers. Tim Hardaway Jr. signed with the Heat. Jalen Pickett is with the Clippers. All three show up in last season's lineup data, but none of them are on the 2026-27 roster. That leaves Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson as the returning core, alongside Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III, DaRon Holmes II, David Roddy, Zeke Nnaji, Spencer Jones and KJ Simpson. Rookies Alpha Diallo, Bryce Hopkins and Trevon Brazile round out a roster of 18 that is still waiting on its first game.
Last Season's Numbers Set the Bar
Denver went 54-28 in 2025-26. The offense ranked as one of the league's best by rate stats: a 121.2 offensive rating against a 116.0 defensive rating, for a net rating of plus-5.2. The Nuggets scored 122.1 points per game, played at a 99.5 pace, and shot 57.7 effective field goal percentage with a 61.6 true shooting mark. Those numbers came from a group that is mostly still here. The top five-man unit last season, Gordon-Jokić-Murray-Johnson-Braun, played 360 minutes across 23 games and posted a net rating of plus-13.5, the clearest evidence that this specific group already knows how to win together before a single game of the new season is played.
Jokić and Murray Carry the Numbers In
Nikola Jokić averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 65 games last season, shooting 38.0 percent from three, with a plus-8.5 on-court differential. Jamal Murray played 75 games and averaged 25.4 points, 7.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 43.5 percent from deep. Christian Braun added 12.0 points and 4.8 rebounds over 44 games. Cameron Johnson put up 12.2 points on 43.0 percent three-point shooting across 54 games. Aaron Gordon averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 36 games. Bruce Brown was the iron man of the group, playing all 82 games and contributing 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds a night.
The Injury Report Before Game One
Two players are on the injury list before the season has even started. Aaron Gordon is day-to-day with a left calf issue, with an estimated return date of Oct. 1. Trevon Brazile is also day-to-day, with an undisclosed issue, also targeting an Oct. 1 return. Both dates fall before the preseason opener on Oct. 6 at Utah, which means the plan appears to have both players back on the floor in time for preseason reps ahead of the Oct. 22 opener at Oklahoma City. Nothing here rises to the level of a training camp scare, but it's worth tracking as preseason games approach.
What's Being Said Around the League
A Northwest Notes roundup dated Sept. 5 touched on several names connected to the division, including Christian Braun and former Nugget Peyton Watson, alongside references to Love, the Timberwolves and Dundon, according to the report. No specifics beyond the headline are available, and nothing here should be read as a completed move. Braun remains on Denver's roster after averaging 12.0 points last season, and Watson has already departed for Cleveland, so any Denver angle in that report would need to be read carefully once more details surface. For now, it's a name in a notes column, not a transaction.
Questions fans ask
What is the Nuggets' record so far in 2026-27?
Denver is 0-0. The season has not started yet; the regular-season opener is Oct. 22 at Oklahoma City on ESPN.
Who did the Nuggets lose this offseason?
Peyton Watson (now with the Cavaliers), Tim Hardaway Jr. (now with the Heat) and Jalen Pickett (now with the Clippers) are no longer on the roster.
Is Aaron Gordon injured heading into the season?
Yes. Gordon is day-to-day with a left calf issue and has an estimated return date of Oct. 1.
How did the Nuggets do last season?
Denver went 54-28 in 2025-26 with a net rating of plus-5.2, an offensive rating of 121.2 and a defensive rating of 116.0.
When do the Nuggets play their first preseason game?
Oct. 6, on the road against Utah.
How many nationally televised games do the Nuggets have this season?
34 of Denver's 80 regular-season games are scheduled for national television.
What changed
Last 36 hoursRUM
Northwest Notes: Braun, Watson, Love, Wolves, Dundon · 6 h ago
INJ
Aaron Gordon: Day-To-Day (Calf · Leg · Left) · 6 h ago
INJ
Trevon Brazile: Day-To-Day (Undisclosed · Other) · 6 h ago
Injury tracker
updated 3 min ago| Player | Status | Injury | Est. return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trevon Brazile | Day-To-Day | Undisclosed · Other | 2026-10-01 |
| Aaron Gordon | Day-To-Day | Calf · Leg · Left | 2026-10-01 |
Rotation tracker · player stock
expectedExpected rotation · minutes from 2025-26
Order = last season's minutes for the players on this roster; the real rotation replaces it after the first regular-season game.
Schedule
Full 2026-27 schedule · 84 games9:00 PM ET
DEN
UTA
Tue, Oct 6
9:00 PM ET
CHI
DEN
Sun, Oct 11
10:30 PM ET
DEN
LAC
Wed, Oct 14
10:30 PM ET
DEN
LAL
Fri, Oct 16
9:30 PM ETESPN
DEN
OKC
Thu, Oct 22 · ESPN
9:00 PM ET
NOP
DEN
Sat, Oct 24
Head-to-head
Nuggets vs every teamRoster
18 players| # | Player | Pos | Ht | Age | PPG | RPG | APG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Christian Braun | G | 6-6 | 25 | 12.0 | 4.8 | 2.7 |
| 1 | Curtis Jones | G | 6-3 | 24 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| 3 | Julian Strawther | G | 6-6 | 24 | 7.2 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| 5 | Tyus Jones | G | 6-0 | 30 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 2.4 |
| 11 | Bruce Brown | G-F | 6-4 | 30 | 7.9 | 3.9 | 2.1 |
| 14 | DaRon Holmes II | F | 6-9 | 24 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| 15 | Nikola Jokić | C | 6-11 | 31 | 27.7 | 12.9 | 10.7 |
| 21 | Spencer Jones | F | 6-7 | 25 | 5.5 | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| 22 | Zeke Nnaji | F-C | 6-10 | 25 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 |
| 23 | Cameron Johnson | F | 6-8 | 30 | 12.2 | 3.8 | 2.4 |
| 25 | KJ Simpson | G | 6-2 | 24 | 4.6 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| 27 | Jamal Murray | G | 6-4 | 29 | 25.4 | 4.4 | 7.1 |
| 32 |  Aaron Gordon | F | 6-8 | 30 | 16.2 | 5.8 | 2.7 |
| 35 | Marvin Bagley III | F | 6-10 | 27 | 10.5 | 6.1 | 1.4 |
| 45 | David Roddy | F | 6-5 | 25 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| Bryce Hopkins | 24 | — | — | — | |||
| Trevon Brazile | F | 6-10 | 23 | — | — | — | |
| Alpha Diallo | 29 | — | — | — |
Per-game stats: 2025-26 (last season, until the new one tips off).
Most-used lineups
2025-26| Five | GP | Min | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Gordon - N. Jokić - J. Murray - C. Johnson - C. Braun | 23 | 360 | +13.5 |
| N. Jokić - J. Murray - C. Johnson - P. Watson - S. Jones | 13 | 171 | +20.1 |
| N. Jokić - J. Murray - C. Johnson - J. Strawther - C. Braun | 10 | 119 | +6.3 |
| J. Valančiūnas - T. Hardaway Jr. - J. Murray - B. Brown - P. Watson | 17 | 96 | +17.5 |
| T. Hardaway Jr. - N. Jokić - J. Murray - B. Brown - C. Braun | 17 | 94 | +11.9 |
| T. Hardaway Jr. - N. Jokić - J. Murray - P. Watson - S. Jones | 15 | 85 | +14.8 |
Trade radar
1 taggedhoopsrumors · 16 h ago
Team stats 2025-26: 122.1 PPG · 44.0 RPG · 29.0 APG