The Denver Nuggets are headed into the 2026-27 season with a familiar name but a very different outlook. They won the NBA title in 2023, but the run since then has not looked like a champion’s follow-up act: two second-round exits, then a first-round flameout most recently.
That’s left them in a spot they probably aren’t used to. Despite being one of the league’s steadier regular-season teams, Denver has not made it back to the Western Conference Finals since lifting the trophy three years ago. And heading into this season, the market is treating them like a team with something to prove.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Nuggets tied for eighth-best odds to win the 2027 NBA Finals at +2700, level with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the Western Conference, they sit fourth behind the Oklahoma City Thunder at +220, the San Antonio Spurs at +300 and the Minnesota Timberwolves at +2200.
There are reasons the number looks that way. Denver is coming off that first-round exit, and the roster has taken hits with the departures of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Watson. There are also real questions hanging over the group about depth, defense and three-point shooting.
Still, it would be a mistake to write off a team with Nikola Jokic at the center of everything. Add in Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, and the Nuggets have the kind of top-end talent that keeps them in the title conversation even when the rest of the picture looks less certain.
Head coach David Adelman said at practice Wednesday, a day before Denver opens against the Thunder, that the long-shot label can actually help this group.
"I think our expectations and the excitement are there because it's been a while since we've won the championship. Since 2023.
And so Vegas doesn't think we have a chance from what I looked at," Adelman said. "So I think there's a lot of excitement about chasing as opposed to being chased.
And I think we have to understand that as a team, that's fun."
For a team built around a player of Jokic’s caliber, the underdog label doesn’t come naturally. But compared with Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the Nuggets are being cast in a different tier right now.
Adelman pointed back to the years before Denver broke through in 2023, saying that a similar kind of pressure-free climb could serve them well again.
"To be back in that situation we were in, you know, 2020, '21, '22, we're back in the situation, and I think that's a good thing for our guys. There's excitement tied to that. So I think they'll embrace that, and here we go," he finished.
The Nuggets may like the position they’re in, but that doesn’t make the road any easier. The goal remains the same: get back into championship contention and make another run at the top, even if the climb starts from the outside.
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Nikola Jokic Has A Wild New Ceiling For Nuggets Fans To Watch
Nikola Jokics ceiling keeps getting stranger in the best possible way for Nuggets fans, and a new prediction from The Ringers Michael Pina pushes it into rarefied territory. Pina sees a path for Jokic to do something almost nobody in the modern NBA has done, building on the same blend of scoring, passing and control that already makes Denvers offense revolve around him.
The logic is easy enough to follow, even if the outcome remains a long shot. Jokic has already shown he can top the league in rebounds and assists in the same season, and his playmaking makes the idea of another leap feel plausible. The tougher part is the scoring burden, because turning that kind of all-around dominance into a true triple-crown run would require a much heavier shot load than hes typically carried. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Open With Two Worrying Problems Against This Thunder Test
The Nuggets open their season with a sharp early test against an Oklahoma City team that already has one win and a clear head start in rhythm. The Thunder showed the kind of balance that can make an opener feel less like a measuring stick and more like a warning, with depth that held up across the roster and a star-driven attack that set the tone from the start.
For Denver, the bigger question is whether its second unit can match that kind of pressure without surrendering ground, especially against a Thunder group that looks equipped to keep bringing waves. The Nuggets also need their defense to travel quickly from preseason concern to regular-season answer, because Oklahoma City has already shown it can make opponents pay when the game tilts toward pace, spacing and sustained energy. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordon Could Reveal David Adelmans New Nuggets Vision
Aaron Gordons strong preseason has already given David Adelman one more wrinkle to explore as the Nuggets head into the season opener against Oklahoma City. Denvers new coach said Gordon could be used in more of a facilitator role if the Thunder choose Chet Holmgren to defend him, a look that would lean on Gordons efficiency and force the defense to make an early decision about how it wants to match up.
For Denver, the appeal goes beyond one possession or one matchup. Adelman appears to be searching for ways to lighten Jamal Murrays ball-handling burden and create a more shared offensive load, and Gordons play has made him a logical option to help do it. If the Nuggets go that route, it would offer an early glimpse at how Adelman plans to tweak the offense around his core pieces. [Read more 🡒]