Nuggets Need These 3 Players to Step Up in the Clutch This Season

The Denver Nuggets were a middle-of-the-road team in clutch moments last season, defined by the NBA as the final 5 minutes of the fourth quarter or any overtime when the score differential is 5 points or fewer.

Denver ranked 11th in the NBA for clutch win percentage (54.8%), ranked 11th in clutch field goal shooting (45.2%), and finished 15th in the league for plus-minus in those moments (-0.1).

So things could be worse. However, if Denver wants to be a true title-contending team for the 2026-27 season, they'll have to take things a step further in their clutch production.

Each of the four teams who are fresh off of a conference finals appearance ranked top-six in the league for clutch plus-minus, and three of them ranked top-six in clutch win percentage as well.

Therefore, this is an area that Denver needs to key in on to truly hope this season can end up better than the last. And to make those clutch improvements happen, it puts three particular players on the radar as those that need to refine their game in some way.

Let's take a look at the situation for each:

Christian Braun

Honestly, Braun could benefit by taking a step forward in several different areas of his game compared to last year's production. But his clutch production is certainly one of those traits to be included in the list.

Braun, in 25 games played in the clutch, he averaged an abysmal 16.7% from the field and 28.6% from three, while also ranking towards the bottom of the roster for plus-minus at -1.9.

Those are brutal numbers for the Nuggets' $125 million man, and it goes without saying that he'll need to see those turn around in the right direction for Denver's rotation to be at its best. Braun is one of the few guards and two-way guys in the lineup on a nightly basis, and any game he doesn't have it going takes a hit to the Nuggets' success on both sides of the ball.

Cameron Johnson

Johnson––and particularly his shooting––turned a corner towards the second half of his most recent 2025-26 season after a rocky start to his tenure in the Mile High. He started the season shooting 31.6% from three through five games in October, then finished as a 43.0% shooter for the season.

However, his clutch shooting stats remained a bit lackluster throughout the course of the year. Johnson shot under 30% from the field and 30.2% from three, ranking in the bottom five for both on the roster for those who played at least 10 games in the clutch.

It's a result that's not too optimal for one of the Nuggets' most important shooters around their roster as a whole. So the hope is that in Johnson's second year with Denver, paired with the implications of a contract year, those shooting stats can continue to be on an upward swing.

Nikola Jokic

Surprisingly, Nikola Jokic's clutch stats have seen better days despite his top-two MVP finish from last season. And it really comes down to his effectiveness shooting the ball from beyond the arc.

Jokic rounded out the year with 32 games played in the clutch, finished with a losing record of 15-17, and shot a collective 21.4% from three on just about one attempt from deep per game. Those shooting lapses also bled into the regression his shot percentage saw from this past season compared to 2024-25, where he shot a career-high 41.7% throughout the course of the year.

There's little concern that Jokic can do what it takes for a different result this season, though, especially in the clutch. In fact, Jokic has remained top six in Clutch Player of the Year voting for the past three seasons, so maybe this can be the year where he finally gets over the hump to add to his trophy collection.

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