In 2023, the Denver Nuggets took the NBA by storm and won the NBA Championship after an impressive 53-win season and playoff run. The team was led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and point guard Jamal Murray. However, throughout the past two seasons, they have failed to repeat this success.

In 2024, they lost to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in a tragic Game 7 loss in the Western Semifinals, after being up 20 at one point in the game. Then the following year, they lost in Game 7 in the Western Semifinals again, this time to the young Oklahoma City Thunder led by the MVP Shai Gilegeous-Alexander, who ended up winning the championship.

The biggest issues in these losses were the lack of depth in the roster. The bench was never able to produce the same amount of offense or defense as the starters would.  As Nikola Jokic enters his 30s, the Nuggets are running out of time with prime Nikola Jokic basketball. With fans being worried about this, they prayed for a successful offseason to become a legitimate contender once again. 

I believe that their prayers were answered. This offseason, they traded Michael Porter Jr and a first round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson. Later, they signed Jonas Valančiūnas from the Kings, Bruce Brown from the Toronto Raptors, and Tim Hardaway Jr from the Detroit Pistons. All of these pieces added depth and rotation to the roster to help Jokic and the rest of the starters get rest, and still play winning basketball. 

The signing were proven to be successful, as the Nuggets have won 3 of their first 4 games, all while putting up 120 points. Matter of a fact, they are the first team in NBA history to score 120+ points and shoot 50+ FG% in the opening first four games. Hopefully, the team can keep producing these numbers, because if they do, they will be a serious contender for the championship, and a hard team to beat in the NBA.