The Nuggets didn’t need a first-rounder to find real help this year. Their second-round rookies, Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins, are already doing more than just filling out the rotation - they’re giving Denver production the team has been chasing from its draft picks for a while.
Brazile has grabbed the bigger share of the attention so far, and it’s easy to see why. The 6-foot-10 forward has come flying out of the gate, averaging 8.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench through seven games. Denver traded down from No. 26 to No. 35 in the draft, picked up a pair of future second-rounders, and still walked away with a player who’s already making that move look smart.
His role opened up because of Spencer Jones’ injury, and Brazile has done enough to make it hard to imagine him simply handing that spot back when Jones returns. The defense has been the real calling card.
He’s been near the top of the league in defending shots, and he’s been a strong rebounder from the jump. In Denver’s 128-109 win over the Toronto Raptors, he also showed off the kind of vertical pop that makes him such a problem around the rim.
Brazile finished that game with 6 points, 7 boards and two stocks, but he still had to share the spotlight with his rookie running mate.
Bryce Hopkins stepped in as the first wing off the bench after DeMar DeRozan was a late scratch with back spasms, and he made the most of the opening. If anything, he outplayed DeRozan’s production this season. Even with Nikola Jokic shaking off his slow start by posting a triple-double in just three quarters, Hopkins had a case as the game’s biggest surprise.
He finished with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and he knocked down his lone three-point try. Hopkins did most of his damage at the rim, where all five of his two-point makes came.
He kept putting pressure on the defense by getting downhill and welcoming contact, the kind of approach that forces officials to make a call. That showed up in his eight free-throw attempts, which led the team.
He made five of them, but Denver hardly suffered for it.
Hopkins added 4 rebounds and 2 steals, and the energy he brought matched what Brazile has been giving the Nuggets. Both rookies have shown they understand their jobs, and both have already given Denver a jolt.
The Nuggets once struck gold in the second round with Nikola Jokic. This year, they may have done it again with Brazile and Hopkins.
In Other News...
Nikola Jokic Just Entered A Conversation Nuggets Fans Will Hate
The early look at the 2027 draft board already says plenty about where the league thinks the next wave of talent is headed, and it also says something about how unsettled the future may feel around the NBAs biggest names. ESPNs Jeremy Woo put Kansas forward/guard Tyran Stokes at No. 1 on his initial big board, citing the kind of versatility that makes scouts lean in, even as questions remain about efficiency and maturity. With the class viewed as thinner than recent groups and more prospects likely to stay in college because of NIL money and shifting rules, the long-range draft picture is still taking shape.
For Nuggets fans, the more uncomfortable part is the backdrop around it. League personnel are already watching for what could happen with stars who usually seem untouchable, and Nikola Jokic is at least part of that conversation in the broadest sense. No one is suggesting a move is around the corner, but the fact that his name is even floating through future trade speculation is the kind of thing that gets attention in Denver, especially when the league is already bracing for a draft cycle that may not offer the usual quick fixes. [Read more 🡒]
Nikola Jokic Rumors Just Got More Uncomfortable For Nuggets Fans
The offseason noise around Nikola Jokic is getting louder, and this time it is coming from a team that has spent years trying to stay in the title mix. The Golden State Warriors are reportedly weighing a run at the Nuggets star next summer, a sign they still see themselves as a landing spot for elite talent even as injuries continue to test their current core.
For Denver, the uncomfortable part is not just the interest itself, but the backdrop around Jokics future. Contract extension talks have been delayed, which has only added to the speculation about where things could go from here, and the Warriors believe a player of his caliber could dramatically change their championship outlook. It is the kind of rumor that does not move the standings today, but it can hang over a franchise quickly when the league starts looking ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Jamal Murray Suddenly Feels Like Part Of Denvers Bigger Problem
The Nuggets uneven start has already put a spotlight on the bigger issues around the roster, with a 4-3 record, a dip in net rating and a defense that has not looked like a contenders yet. Even with Jamal Murray still producing at a high level and remaining central to everything Denver does offensively, the larger question around the team is whether the current group is good enough to keep pace in a crowded West.
Jamal Murrays name is now part of that conversation in a way it usually is not. If Denver keeps drifting instead of separating itself, the front office could eventually have to weigh difficult possibilities in the search for a fix, and that is where the tension starts to build around one of the franchises most important players. For a team that still expects to contend, the pressure is already less about one bad week and more about whether the early-season problems are a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]