The Nuggets’ 2026-27 schedule is out, and a few dates jump off the page immediately.
Denver has spent the last eight regular seasons doing what good teams are supposed to do: winning at least 46 games and punching its ticket to the postseason every year. But this 82-game slate from late October to mid-April still matters plenty. The Nuggets’ third-seeded finish heading into the 2026 postseason came down to a few regular-season wins, and this year the mission is the same: protect home-court advantage in the first round, or maybe climb even higher in the West.
The playoffs will always be the main event for Nikola Jokic and company. Still, there are five regular-season games that look especially worth the wait.
The first one comes right out of the gate. Denver opens against the Thunder, and that matchup carries some early weight because Oklahoma City has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games against the Nuggets. It also gives either Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a chance to make a statement in the MVP conversation before the season really settles in.
Later in the year, the Nuggets get a December meeting with the 76ers that feels different from the old Jokic-Embiid showdowns. Those games were always must-see because of the stakes between Jokic and Joel Embiid.
Now the matchup includes LeBron James in Philly and Jaylen Brown as well. If everyone is healthy, Denver’s first game against them should be one to watch.
Christmas Day sends the Nuggets to the Bay for a matchup with Steph Curry and the Warriors. It’s the same holiday stage Denver had in 2024, when it beat Golden State 120-114. This time around, the Nuggets will be aiming for another result in the same building.
Denver also gets two shots at the Timberwolves after Minnesota knocked the Nuggets out of last season’s playoffs. The first rematch comes two months into the year, and then the teams meet again three days later on New Year’s Eve. That second one could end up being the sharper measuring stick of the two.
Then there’s Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Denver doesn’t see San Antonio until February, and after that first meeting at the end of the month, the teams play twice more before the season ends. All three games are on national TV, but the first one - on the road in San Antonio - may be the one that stands out most.
In Other News...
Nuggets And Peyton Watson Are Drifting Toward A Tough Roster Call
Peyton Watsons restricted free agency has settled into the sort of stand-off the Nuggets were hoping to avoid. Denver has put a four-year, $70 million proposal on the table with a team option in the final season, but the talks have not moved much beyond that point as the sides work through value and role in a tighter financial picture for the franchise.
Watsons camp is believed to be targeting a higher annual number, and that gap has left sign-and-trade possibilities in play if a deal cannot be bridged. Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Clippers have all been floated as possible landing spots, while the Nuggets also have to weigh the risk of Watson simply playing on his qualifying offer if the market never gives either side a clean exit. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watson Has Become A Real Nuggets Flashpoint This Summer
Peyton Watson has gone from promising young piece to summer conversation starter for the Nuggets, and the reason is simple enough: Denver wants to keep him, but the business of restricted free agency has turned the situation into a real test of how much both sides can live with. The Nuggets are working through contract talks with a player whose growth has made him part of the franchises longer-term plans, even as the team continues to navigate the kind of financial pressures that come with building around a contending core.
The wrinkle is that this has not stayed a Denver-only issue. Interest has surfaced from several teams around the league, with the Clippers, Hawks, Bucks and Cavaliers among those linked to a possible sign-and-trade path, which only adds more moving parts to an already delicate negotiation. For now, Watsons future remains unsettled, with the qualifying offer still on the table and the possibility of a longer agreement hanging over the rest of the offseason as training camp gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Watson Just Put The Nuggets In A Tough Offseason Spot
Denvers offseason has already been boxed in by the hard realities of the second apron, and the front office is operating with almost no margin for error. The Nuggets have made only one signing so far, and with a projected luxury tax bill hanging over everything, keeping young talent in place has become harder than usual, especially when the player in question has real league-wide value.
Peyton Watson is now the clearest example of that squeeze. Denver would like to keep the restricted free agent picture from getting messier, but his market has started to form beyond Colorado, with sign-and-trade chatter beginning to frame the next step. For the Nuggets, the challenge is not just finding a path to hold onto him, but navigating an offseason where every move has to fit both the cap sheet and whatever return another team is willing to put on the table. [Read more 🡒]