The Nuggets just had a historically dominant postseason run, and let’s not forget that over the course of the offseason. In addition to being the top seed in the Western Conference, they lost just four games in the postseason en route to winning the title.
Statistically, Nikola Jokic had one of the best postseason runs ever. The 2x MVP, in my opinion, was robbed of his third consecutive MVP this regular season, but it didn’t even matter after he won it all and proved that he’s the best player on the planet, as he averaged 30.0 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and 9.5 APG throughout the playoffs.
Jamal Murray solidified himself as a premier point guard in the league. His ability to play alongside Jokic is incredible, as their two-man game is one of the league’s best. In the playoffs, he averaged 26.1 PPG and 7.1 APG on a 58.6 TS%.
This team is absolutely perfectly constructed. Aaron Gordon is one of the league’s best cutters and off-ball movers while also being an incredibly versatile, effective on-ball defender. Michael Porter Jr. is a supreme, knockdown three point shooter while also being a good cutter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the standard 3&D player who can get to dribble pull-ups out of handoffs.
What can you not like about this Nuggets roster coming into the 2023-24 season? Sure, they lost Bruce Brown, and he was very important coming off of the bench, but they expect their young players to grow. Christian Braun was legitimately a plus impact in the NBA Finals as a rookie. He is a good cutter while also being an incredibly tenacious, active defender. Peyton Watson and Zeke Nnaji make take steps.
They have three incoming rookies who may be able to make an impact similar to Braun too. Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and Hunter Tyson all have their own intrigue. Tyson was named to the All-Summer League 1st Team because of his play there, and I even did an extensive Twitter thread on him and his play, which can be found below.
https://twitter.com/CharlieSpungin/status/1680279198479314946?s=20
To me, the Nuggets have to be the favorites to go back-to-back. The roster has perfect construction around the world’s best player, and their young guys have clear room to grow. It’s hard to bet against the Nuggets right now.
Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst