The over/under for wins for the Nuggets this season, according to FanDuel, is 47.5, which, if you ask me is much too low, but also there are a lot of improved teams in the Western Conference.
Are the Nuggets one of them?
Consider this the first part of a Nuggets season preview, taking a look at some the players not named Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray that this team needs to perform all season long in order to reach its max potential.
NUGGET WITH THE MOST TO PROVE: CHRISTIAN BRAUN
For any person that dared question Christian Braun’s worth as a player and his actual value to the Nuggets team last season, he wants you to know he saw it and remembers.
“I learned a ton about a lot of people,” he said.
But perhaps he learned even more about himself. Last season was the first time Braun dealt with a significant injury of any kind, and it limited him to just 44 games during the regular season. On top of that, after he sat out 22 games in November and December to try and get what was an ankle injury solved, he had to go back into injury rehab after just three appearances in January to readdress the situation.
It derailed his season.
The biggest hits to his on-court play were in the areas of transition scoring and 3-point shooting. In 2024-25, Braun led the NBA in fast break points per game at 5.1. Last season, without the same explosiveness due to the ailing ankle, that fell to 3.8. His 3-point percentage went from 39.7 percent in 2024-25 to 30.1 percent last season, and that was also on the highest volume of threes taken per game in his career (3.3).
If there’s any player that has something to prove, now fully healthy coming into this season, its Braun.
But you don’t have to take my word for it.
“I feel like I have to prove myself every single day,” Braun said on Nuggets Media Day. “I wake up every single day wanting to play my best and be at my best.”
NUGGET WHO WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST LEAP: CAM JOHNSON
When we last left Cam Johnson, he was busy going all scorching hot fire on the court in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, trying to keep the Nuggets in the series.
His 18 points in Game 5 helped the Nuggets win and push the series one more game. He backed that performance up by racking up 27 more points in Game 6. In the last two games of the series, Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He shot 57.1 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from the 3-point line.
Cam was hoopin’.
And now he’s got a full season and offseason under his belt to hit the ground running. He’s a super-cerebral player, and thoughtful on the court sometimes to a fault. So, Johnson’s ability to understand the system and his teammates tendencies and mesh all of that with his own game are paramount to his success. He had that in the playoffs.
He’ll have that from Day 1 this season.
NUGGET WITH MOST TO GAIN: AARON GORDON
By his own admission, Aaron Gordon did a little “soul-searching” during the offseason.
What did that entail?
To hear Gordon tell it, a little traveling and reading and all the renaissance-y things that have to do with thinking and reflecting.
It has been a difficult last two seasons for Mr. Nugget. He’s only played in 87 of a possible 164 games in that span. He played in just 36 games last season. Injuries have been the culprit, most-notably of the soft tissue variety. Hamstring and calf ailments have persisted.
And so the question he has to get solved is how to stay on the court for the majority of the season and in the entirety of the playoffs. Period. There is no understating the importance of Gordon to both the Nuggets offense and defense. Coach David Adelman said point-blank that the Nuggets simply didn’t run major aspects of their offense when he was not playing.
Gordon has the most to gain from the standpoint of reshaping his recent reputation of not being realiable because injuries constantly keep him out of action. He is more than eager to put it in the rearview.
NEW NUGGET THEY MOST NEED PRODUCTION: DEMAR DEROZAN
So on the surface, none of this is even an issue.
DeMar DeRozan is one of the great scorers in NBA history — he is 16th in league history with 26,711 points. Health permitting, this season he’ll pass the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon, who is just 235 points ahead of DeRozan for 15th place in league history.
Getting a bucket is light work for DeRozan.
Getting into a scoring rhythm off the bench, however, might take some getting used to. He’s NEVER spent a season as primarily a reserve. So, these are uncharted waters.
And the Nuggets need him to fill it up on a nightly basis. The fate of their bench scoring essentially rests with him. If he’s on, then the Nuggets will have an effective reserve unit. If he isn’t on a particular night, then expect the bench to struggle to find a hot hand.
Adelman has said he will give DeRozan the ball early and often and in many different areas on the court, so the veteran — going into his 18th season — has the ultimate green light.
MOST UNDERRATED NEW NUGGET: ALPHA DIALLO
This summer signing flew under the radar a bit. A player from overseas, who played a year of high school ball at Denver West in Colorado, but had not stepped foot on an NBA court.
Until now.
Alpha Diallo is the active, lengthy defender all NBA teams are pining after. And he comes with credentials — last season, playing for Monaco in the EuroLeague, Diallo was named the league’s Best Defender. At 6-7 and 210 pounds, and with good quickness both straight-line and laterally, he can guard 1 to 4 on the court.
He’s got tenacity, and a high-revving motor. He’ll pick up 94 feet, and has the wingspan and high defensive IQ to know exactly when to go for the steal. And he never shies away from physicality.
But here’s the thing: Offensively, he’s very effective. Remember him winning the Best Defender title in the EuroLeague? He was also the combined leading scorer in the two games of that league’s Final Four. His Monaco team finished runner-up in the title game.
He’s got range to the 3-point line, but also finishes with a variety of dunks around the rim. He is a super-intriguing prospect, who I thought would be a near perfect replacement for Spencer Jones had Jones gone to OKC.