The Numbers Around Denver Still Say Championship Core
Payroll, net rating and Jokic's final stretch last season all point the same direction before a single preseason minute changes anything.
Denver enters the 2026-27 preseason carrying a $221.1 million payroll and a net rating of 5.2 from last season, numbers that read like a contender, not a team rebuilding. Sunday's opener against Utah adds nothing to any of it - the figures that actually define this roster were set before camp began.
What $221.1 million buys
Denver's payroll sits at $221.1 million, past the $209.0 million threshold the league calls the apron and above the $200.4 million luxury tax mark. Jokic accounts for $59.0 million of it, Murray for $50.1 million, Gordon for $33.7 million, Johnson for $23.1 million and Braun for $21.6 million. That is a roster built around five names, not a deep bench.
A top offense carrying a middling defense
Last season Denver's offense rated 121.2, best in the league, while the defense rated 116.0, 21st. The gap produced a net rating of 5.2, seventh overall. Pace was 99.5, deliberate by design - a team built to control tempo, not speed into transition. The offensive number proves the talent; the defensive number is the same question the front office has carried since Oklahoma City's 2025 series.
Jokic's last line before training camp
Jokic closed last season averaging 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists, shooting 38.0 percent from three. He finished with six straight double-doubles, then hit a stretch of five games shooting just 17 percent from three - both numbers from last season, both worth watching once games that count begin. Murray added 25.4 points a game at 43.5 percent from three, proof the backcourt partnership survived a full season together.
Why Sunday doesn't change any of this
Utah went 22-60 last season with a net rating of -8.2, and Sunday's game at Ball Arena is preseason, carrying no standings weight for either team. Denver's draft capital is already committed elsewhere - three protected first-round picks owed to Oklahoma City across 2028, 2029 and 2030 - a bet that the number worth protecting is net rating, not future assets. Everything above was already true before camp opened.
What is the Nuggets' payroll for 2026-27?
Denver carries $221.1 million in payroll, past the $209.0 million apron threshold and the $200.4 million luxury tax mark.
What was Denver's net rating last season?
The Nuggets finished last season at 5.2, seventh in the league, built on the NBA's top-ranked offense and a defense that ranked 21st.
