Nuggets look to Gordon and Braun to rebuild around Jokic

The Denver Nuggets open the season Thursday, October 22, at the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9:30 PM ET, with Nikola Jokic and a remade supporting cast and a season that turns on Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, who played 36 and 44 of 82 games last season.

Denver went 54-28 last season, took the No. 3 seed in the West and posted a net rating of 5.1. The Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-2 in the playoffs.

Health shaped the year. Cameron Johnson missed 28 games, Spencer Jones 19 and Jokic 17. With Jamal Murray, Jokic and Johnson all playing, Denver went 36-17 in 53 games, and 18-11 in the 29 without one of them. The Nuggets closed 21-9 over their last 30.

Gordon played 36 games last season. In 2024-25, his last full season, he played 51 games and averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 28.4 minutes. Our impact rating, in points per 100 possessions over an average player, put him at 2.25.

Braun played 44 games last season and 79 in 2024-25, when he averaged 15.4 points and 5.2 rebounds with an impact rating of 3.62. A healthy Braun gives Denver a starting guard well above average, and the Nuggets need his minutes after a summer that took wings out of the rotation.

How both come back is the open question. Our projection does not assume the best version of either one.

Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 65 games, with an impact rating of 7.85. Nobody else on the roster is close, so the team's floor is whatever he plays.

Murray scored 25.4 points a game with 7.1 assists over 75 games, and Johnson added 12.2 points in 54. Their health decides how often Denver gets the lineup that went 36-17.

DeMar DeRozan arrives from the Sacramento Kings after scoring 18.4 points in 77 games. His impact rating was -0.7, below average, so his scoring has to turn into wins in a new setting.

Marvin Bagley III, who split last season between the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks, brings 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 20 minutes a game. Ryan Nembhard comes from Dallas with 5.3 assists in 19.5 minutes.

Alpha Diallo, undrafted out of AS Monaco, is projected for the rotation. Trevon Brazile, the No. 35 pick out of Arkansas, is a fringe player, and Bryce Hopkins, the No. 49 pick out of St. John's, is on a two-way contract.

Peyton Watson left for the Cleveland Cavaliers after 29.6 minutes a game and an impact rating of 1.59. Tim Hardaway Jr. went to the Miami Heat after 80 games. Bruce Brown, who played all 82 games, graded at -1.98 and is gone. Only 61% of last season's minutes return.

Jones is day-to-day with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to have had any preseason work. His return is listed for the opener. Julian Strawther is out for the first weeks, with a return listed for Sunday, November 29, after he was hurt in Wednesday's preseason game against the Clippers.

Our numbers rank the roster 8th of 30 in strength and project 48 wins and a net rating of 3.1. That is a view, not a promise. It counts Gordon at 16.8 minutes a game and Braun at 25.5, with the usual discount for players back from long absences, so a full return from either would be more than the projection holds.