If the Denver Nuggets are going to push their clutch numbers from merely solid to genuinely dangerous, the pressure falls on a few familiar names.
Last season, Denver lived in the middle of the pack when games tightened up. In the NBA’s definition of clutch time - the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or any overtime with the score within five points - the Nuggets finished 11th in clutch win percentage at 54.8%, 11th in clutch field goal shooting at 45.2%, and 15th in clutch plus-minus at -0.1.
That’s not a disaster. But it also isn’t the profile of a team trying to separate itself from the crowd. The recent conference finals teams made that point loud and clear: all four ranked in the top six in clutch plus-minus, and three of the four were also top six in clutch win percentage.
So for Denver, this is a real place to gain ground. And if the Nuggets are going to do it, three players stand out as the ones who need to clean things up late.
Christian Braun is first on that list, and his clutch numbers were rough. In 25 clutch games, he shot 16.7% from the field and 28.6% from three, while posting a -1.9 plus-minus, one of the worst marks on the roster.
That’s a tough return for the Nuggets’ $125 million man, especially since Braun is one of the few guards and two-way players Denver leans on every night. When he’s off, it shows up on both ends.
Cameron Johnson also needs a better closing stretch. He eventually found his shot after a shaky start to his time in Denver, opening his most recent 2025-26 season by hitting just 31.6% from three through five October games before finishing the year at 43.0% from deep.
But the clutch production never fully matched that turnaround. Johnson shot under 30% from the field and 30.2% from three in clutch situations, placing him in the bottom five on the roster among players who appeared in at least 10 clutch games.
For one of Denver’s key shooters, that’s not where the Nuggets need him to be.
Then there’s Nikola Jokic, whose clutch line looks a little stranger than you’d expect from a top-two MVP finisher. He played 32 clutch games, went 15-17 in those situations, and shot just 21.4% from three on roughly one attempt per game.
That dip also reflected a broader decline from his 2024-25 season, when he shot a career-high 41.7% overall. Still, there’s not much doubt he can rebound.
Jokic has finished top six in Clutch Player of the Year voting in each of the past three seasons, so the possibility remains that this could finally be the year he adds another trophy to the case.
In Other News...
Nikola Jokic Keeps Doing Something Almost No NBA Star Ever Does
Nikola Jokic keeps standing out in a way that almost no star in the NBA ever does. The Nuggets center is already the leagues all-time leader in games with a triple-double, and he has reached that mark with a style that has never depended on flash or above-the-rim theatrics. Even with 261 dunks across the regular season and playoffs combined, Jokic has built his case on the kind of all-around production that keeps Denvers offense humming and makes every possession feel organized around him.
Last season only sharpened the contrast. Jokic averaged a triple-double with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game while leading the league in rebounding and assists, a reminder of how much of the Nuggets identity runs through his passing, patience and control. The bigger picture is even more striking: he joined Russell Westbrook as the only player to average a triple-double in consecutive seasons, adding another layer to a resume that already reads like something basketball rarely sees. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Interest In Cam Whitmore Puts Real Pressure On Their Roster
Cam Whitmore has quickly become one of the more interesting names on the market for teams still tinkering with the back end of their rosters, and Denver is among the clubs believed to be watching. The former 20th overall pick in the 2023 draft was traded from Washington to Cleveland before being waived, leaving him as a free agent forward with one season of two-way eligibility still available.
For the Nuggets, the appeal is obvious: Whitmore brings upside, and any move for him would force the team to decide how aggressively to use its remaining roster flexibility. He is also set to receive his fully guaranteed salary from Cleveland for the 2026/27 season, which makes him a slightly unusual case as Denver weighs whether he fits as a real competition for a spot rather than just another developmental flyer. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordon Just Put Nuggets Rookies In A Tough Spotlight
Summer League gave the Nuggets a little glimpse of what Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins might become, and Aaron Gordon came away impressed. Both rookies showed enough promise to draw notice, with Braziles defensive versatility and physical tools standing out and Hopkins flashing a more varied offensive game. For a Denver group always balancing development with contention, those kinds of rookie moments matter, even if they come in a setting that can only tell part of the story.
Gordon also made it clear the next step is harder to define, because the two newcomers are still trying to figure out where they belong in the bigger picture. Brazile, the youngest player on the roster, looks like the more NBA-ready option, while Hopkins is likely to spend a lot of time in the G League as he rounds out his game. For now, the Nuggets have two interesting prospects and at least one unsettled question about how soon either one can carve out a real role. [Read more 🡒]