- The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 championship over the Miami Heat in five games
- The Nuggets’ core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon is still intact
- Denver’s starting lineup in 2023-24 will be the same as last season
The Denver Nuggets had a magical 2022-23 season. After winning 53 games in the regular season, the Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference playoffs to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Nuggets faced the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals. Behind Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon, Denver beat Miami in five games to capture its first championship in franchise history. Jokic won the Finals MVP Award, firmly cementing himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
The Nuggets did lose Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency this summer, but Denver’s starting lineup in 2023-24 will be the same as last season and other players will likely step up with Brown and Green gone.
Point Guards
Starter: Jamal Murray
Reserves: Reggie Jackson, Jalen Pickett, Collin Gillespie
Jamal Murray was incredible for the Nuggets in the 2023 playoffs. He averaged 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 20 games versus the Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers, and Heat. The Kentucky product put up 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game in the Finals.
Murray missed the entire 2021-22 season, recovering from an ACL tear. While he had some doubts about whether he could come back and be the same explosive player, Murray never stopped working for the Nuggets.
“I have to say that I had my doubts as well,” Murray said during the 2023 playoffs. “It’s just natural. Somebody asked me about butterflies. That’s what makes you alive. That’s what makes you care. When you doubt yourself, that’s what makes you try to find a way to turn it around. In whatever sport, in whatever injury, in whatever career you’re in, when you go through adversity, it’s how you envision and visualize yourself at the end of it.”
Murray has never made an All-Star team, but he could be an All-Star in 2024.
Shooting Guards
Starter: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Reserves: Christian Braun, Julian Strawther
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one of the best 3-&-D players in the NBA. In his first season with the Nuggets, the veteran swingman averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 76 games while shooting 46.2% from the field, 42.3% from beyond the arc and 82.4% from the free-throw line.
In the 2023 playoffs, Caldwell-Pope put up 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from 3. The 30-year-old is now a two-time champion and the Nuggets are incredibly happy they were able to acquire KCP from the Washington Wizards during the summer of 2022.
Caldwell-Pope has career averages of 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists with the Detroit Pistons, Lakers, Wizards and Nuggets. He’s a career 36.5% shooter from 3-point range. KCP made 135 3-pointers last season for Denver. Expect him to make a ton of shots from deep for the Nuggets again in 2023-24.
Small Forwards
Starter: Michael Porter Jr.
Reserves: Justin Holiday, Peyton Watson
Michael Porter Jr. appeared in 62 games for the Nuggets last season. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 48.7% from the field, 41.4% from beyond the arc, and 80.0% from the free-throw line. The 25-year-old has one of the smoothest-looking jump shots in the NBA.
Porter Jr. signed a five-year, $172 million contract with the Nuggets in September 2021. He has career averages of 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Porter Jr., who put up 13.4 points per game in the 2023 playoffs, will make $33.4 million next season.
Some people around the NBA questioned whether the Nuggets could win it all with Porter Jr. playing significant minutes due to his poor defensive skills and low passing numbers. However, Denver and Porter Jr. proved the naysayers wrong last season.
Power Forwards
Starter: Aaron Gordon
Reserve: Hunter Tyson
Aaron Gordon has turned himself into an elite two-way player in Denver. He not only averaged 16.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists last season while shooting 56.4% overall, 34.7% from beyond the arc, and 60.8% from the free-throw line, but Gordon also defended superstars such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler in the 2023 playoffs.
Gordon put up 13.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in the 2023 postseason. He scored 27 points in Game 4 of the Finals versus the Heat, leading the Nuggets in scoring.
Gordon has developed a close relationship with Nikola Jokic, both on and off the court. All signs point toward Gordon spending the rest of his NBA career with the Nuggets.
Centers
Starter: Nikola Jokic
Reserves: DeAndre Jordan, Zeke Nnaji
Nikola Jokic won the MVP Award in 2021 and 2022. Many people around the NBA believe voters voted for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid last season due to voter fatigue. Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird is the only player in NBA history to win three MVPs in a row.
Jokic put up 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game for the Nuggets last season while shooting 63.2% overall, 38.3% from 3, and 82.2% from the free-throw line. The five-time All-Star registered 58 double-doubles and 29 triple-doubles.
In the 2023 playoffs, Jokic averaged 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists. The future Hall of Famer put up 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game in the Finals against the Heat, proving he’s the best player in the NBA.
With Jokic leading the way, the Nuggets could repeat as champions next season. There doesn’t appear to be a player who can stop Jokic from dominating.
The Golden State Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. No team has repeated as champions since. With that said, it will be fascinating to see if the Nuggets can win it all again in 2024.
