Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are the Nikola Jokic show, and everything else is a supporting act — which is not a criticism of the franchise but an acknowledgment that they are built around the most unique basketball player the sport has ever produced. Founded in 1967 as an ABA charter member, the Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976 and finally won their first championship in 2023 behind a player who looks like he should be coaching your local pub trivia team but plays basketball like he has access to information the rest of us do not. Ball Arena, a 19,520-seat venue in Denver’s mile-high altitude, provides a home-court advantage that visiting teams feel in their lungs.

Jokic won his third MVP award in four seasons in 2023-24 and continued his extraordinary play in 2024-25, averaging 29.6 points along with his trademark assists and rebounds. The man is a walking triple-double who orchestrates the offence from the centre position with a passing vision that makes point guards look unimaginative. Under new head coach David Adelman, the Nuggets finished 50-32 and remain a genuine force in the Western Conference.

Denver’s system maximises Jokic’s otherworldly abilities, surrounding him with shooters and cutters who benefit from passes they did not know were coming. For Australian fans, watching Jokic play basketball is one of the great intellectual pleasures of the NBA season — a reminder that the sport rewards brains as much as brawn.

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The Nuggets enter 2025-26 as legitimate championship contenders once again, because as long as Jokic is playing at this level, Denver will always be in the conversation. His talent defies categorisation, his basketball intelligence borders on the supernatural, and his ability to elevate every player around him makes the Nuggets greater than the sum of their parts. For Australian fans, Denver’s games are a regular feature on broadcast schedules for good reason: Jokic is appointment viewing, full stop.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com