Aaron Gordon Gives Major Praise to Nuggets' Young Talent

Rolling into this season, the Denver Nuggets will have an intriguing combination of young and veteran talent to bank on in their hopes of competing in the Western Conference for another deep playoff run.

Of those veterans, of course, it's the core headlined by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray making that key impact, along with the newcomers of this summer like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas.

But, in the midst of those veterans onboard, there's also Denver's bundle of budding, versatile youngsters who seem to keep getting better with every passing season.

Christian Braun is coming off a career year. Peyton Watson, same deal. And other bench pieces like Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, DaRon Holmes, and Hunter Tyson round out what makes for a nice, versatile group of young contributors who can make a solid dent in terms of impact in the Nuggets' rotation as soon as next year.

And if you ask Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, it's seemingly a young core that's gotten even better throughout the summer.

"The young guys got a lot better," Gordon said during Nuggets training camp. "[Peyton Watson] is moving different. [Julian Strawther] is getting to his stuff. [Jalen] Pickett's playing well. And just with the new additions, [Jonas Valanciunas] is playing great. So, there's a lot of talent in the gym."

"Yeah, it's looking good."

Aaron Gordon: "The young guys got a lot better."

"P-Wat is moving DIFFERENT." 🎱 pic.twitter.com/wWUQSVZzqj
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) October 2, 2025

That's an extremely positive sign for what the Nuggets bench could have in store for the year ahead; one that's continued to get rave reviews in the building for what seems to be a deep, talented Denver rotation set to take the floor.

That youth down the bench comes in as a vital asset to have, especially when competing in a talented West.

May 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives between guard Jamal Murray (27) and Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) in the second half during game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

When matching up against other similarly deep and youthful teams like the reigning champion OKC Thunder, having the ability to go toe-to-toe with a stout ten-man rotation that's young, can get up and down the court, and be versatile on the defensive end is critical to their success once diving into playoff basketball.

Gordon looks confident that this Nuggets youth movement has what it takes to do some damage through the season ahead, as they've seemingly done through the first few days of training camp.

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