The Denver Nuggets are built around veteran stars, so the list of players 25 and under is more about possibility than proven production. Even so, there’s enough here to sort out a few clear tiers as Denver heads toward the 2026-27 season.
At the top of the group sits Christian Braun, and it’s not especially close. He’s the only starter on the list, and even after an underwhelming 2025-26 season, he remains Denver’s best player in this age range.
Braun is now on a five-year, $125 million deal, and the Nuggets need a stronger version of him right away. He dealt with injuries last season and shot just 30.1% from 3-point range, a dip that made him look far less like himself.
A bounce-back year is the expectation.
Julian Strawther comes next, with a real chance to carve out an even bigger role. The 24-year-old guard is in a contract year and is set to be Denver’s primary backup shooting guard.
Last season, he put up 7.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 38.7% from deep. If the Nuggets let him fire away the way Tim Hardaway Jr. did last season, Strawther could have the kind of year Denver has been waiting for.
Spencer Jones is right there with him, and the two could easily be flipped. The 25-year-old forward just signed a new $12 million contract, which tells you how the Nuggets view him.
Jones brings defense, reliable perimeter shooting, and a steady presence in the rotation. He started 37 games last season because of injuries to Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson, and he responded with 7.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 stocks per game, while shooting 51% from the field and 40.3% from 3.
DaRon Holmes is another name worth watching closely. His NBA start has been rough, with a torn Achilles tendon wiping out his entire rookie season, but Denver now expects him to be part of the backup frontcourt.
In 25 appearances last season, Holmes averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 50.8% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. The 24-year-old has plenty of talent, and if the opportunity is there, a breakout isn’t hard to imagine.
The Nuggets also used this summer’s draft to add Trevon Brazile, who already has a path to rotation minutes. Denver took him with the 35th pick, and he’s the youngest player on the roster.
At Arkansas, he posted 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game as a senior, showing the kind of two-way production that can translate. With his length and athleticism, he looks like a player who should adjust quickly.
Zeke Nnaji remains on the roster, but his place in Denver feels tenuous at best. The 25-year-old forward has been a trade candidate for some time as the Nuggets try to move off his contract, and his production has not changed that conversation. He averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds last season, and he is not expected to play much of a role this year or beyond.
KJ Simpson and Bryce Hopkins round out the bottom of the list as two-way players. Denver brought Simpson back on a two-way deal and has him slotted as the third-string point guard.
The 24-year-old made just six appearances for the Nuggets last season, and while he was more promising with the Charlotte Hornets, he is not expected to matter much in Denver’s rotation. As a rookie with Charlotte, he averaged 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.
Hopkins also signed a two-way contract and has a chance to climb if he proves himself. The 24-year-old forward showed enough in Summer League to get people talking, but he still has to establish himself at the NBA level.
In his final season at St. John’s, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 46.9% from the field and 36.3% from 3.
His game has the versatility teams want, but most of his work this season will come in the G League.
In Other News...
Aaron Gordon Carries Denvers Biggest Preseason Concern
The Nuggets are heading into preseason with one of their most important questions centered on Aaron Gordon, whose availability was a problem in the first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. Denvers early exit exposed how much the team leans on Gordons two-way presence, especially when the rotation tightens and the margins shrink in the postseason. With the offseason behind him and the new year about to begin, the focus around camp has shifted from what went wrong in the spring to how reliable the frontcourt can be when the games start to matter again.
Gordons health is only part of the backdrop for a Nuggets team trying to sort out its next steps around Nikola Jokic and the rest of the roster. DeMar DeRozan is part of the broader conversation, and Jokic has been open about how uneasy he is with celebrity even as his profile keeps rising. For Denver, preseason is usually about rhythm and fit, but this one carries a little more weight because so much depends on whether Gordon can stay on the floor and help stabilize the team from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordon Just Put Denvers Rotation Crunch In The Spotlight
Aaron Gordon spent part of his basketball camp in Lakewood this week sounding like a veteran who understands the business side of the league as well as the basketball side. He talked about Peyton Watsons sign-and-trade to Cleveland, his own offseason work and recent conversations with Nikola Jokic, all while framing the move as the kind of decision a young player makes when a different situation offers more minutes and a better paycheck.
For the Nuggets, the bigger takeaway was Gordon putting a spotlight on just how crowded the roster picture already looks before training camp really gets going. After an injury-marred season, he said he feels ready to be back on the floor, but the conversation around Denver keeps circling back to who fits, who plays and how the team sorts out its depth in a season where every rotation spot may matter. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Still Face One Big Question After Peyton Watson Exit
Peyton Watsons departure in the 2026 offseason marked another reminder of how carefully the Nuggets have had to balance sentiment with roster construction. Aaron Gordon made clear he was behind Watson, stressing the bond they built and wishing him well in his new spot, even as Denver moved to keep Cameron Johnson in the name of financial flexibility and reshaped the bench by bringing in DeMar DeRozan.
Watsons exit leaves the Nuggets with a familiar kind of question, the sort that comes with any move made for cap reasons: whether the cost-cutting choice will hold up once the season starts and the rotation tightens. Denver did not stand still after the trade, but replacing a player with Watsons role and upside is never just about adding another name, and the answer may not be obvious until the group starts playing meaningful games. [Read more 🡒]