Inside The Nuggets

Nuggets Draw Western Conference Rival On NBA Christmas Day Announcement

The Denver Nuggets will be facing a familiar foe on Christmas night.
Grant Mona|
Nov 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Nov 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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Minnesota TimberwolvesDenver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets reloaded in the offseason, giving them added depth and scoring to play around the championship duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Michael Porter Jr. was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson, a young sharpshooter, to provide defensive versatility and floor spacing to the Nuggets' rotation.

Denver also acquired Jonas Valanciunas via a trade, giving them an established backup center behind Jokic.

To go along with the trades, fan-favorite Bruce Brown returned to the team, and Tim Hardaway Jr. signed a one-year deal to add a scoring punch and three-point shooting to Denver's bench unit.

The Nuggets will face a Western Conference rival on Christmas night.

ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania revealed the 2025 NBA Christmas Day and Opening Night schedules for the upcoming season, and the Nuggets will play the Minnesota Timberwolves as the last game of the slate.

The Nuggets and Timberwolves have had their fair share of battles over the last few years, including two matchups in the playoffs.

The two teams have a heated history.

In the 2024-2025 regular season, there was no contest. The Timberwolves swept the Nuggets 4-0 in the season series, including two blowouts in January and March of 2025 and two thrilling games, most notably a double overtime win by Minnesota on April 1st of 2025.

The teams split their regular season series the previous two seasons, but the most drama and intrigue come from their matchups in the playoffs.

In 2023, the Nuggets were the top seed in the Western Conference, and they faced off against the 8th-seeded Timberwolves, winning in a dominant five games. While Minnesota did win a game in the series and were an Anthony Edwards shot away from forcing it to six games, the Nuggets ended up winning the NBA Finals.

In the 2024 Conference Semifinals, the series was much more dramatic and competitive. The Timberwolves earned the third seed in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets were the defending champions and the second seed.

Minnesota took a commanding 2-0 series lead, but Denver responded by winning three straight games. In Game 7, the Nuggets built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but Minnesota had the largest comeback in a Game 7 in NBA history to defeat Denver and move on to the Western Conference Finals.

With the Nuggets reloading their roster and the Timberwolves looking to make another deep run in the playoffs after two straight Conference Finals appearances, the matchup should be one of the best of the Christmas Day slate.

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Grant Mona
GRANT MONA

Grant Mona is a multimedia sports journalist based in Los Angeles, covering multiple teams. He is a co-host and producer on The Sporting Tribune Today on The BET Las Vegas, KIRN 670 in Southern California and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network. He formerly played baseball with the University of the Pacific Tigers.

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