Nuggets' Post-Finals Rankings for 2026-27 Season Are Encouraging

The 2025-26 NBA season has officially came to a close, as the New York Knicks claimed their historic championship victory for the first time in 53 years in a five-game Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs.

But even while the Finals have just wrapped up, some have already begun to look ahead to what the 2026-27 season has to offer, and who might be positioned early-on to make their own championship run this time next year.

And for the Denver Nuggets, even while some have already begun to sell their stock on what their upcoming season could look like, early projections seem to indicate they might not be too far off from being one of the top title contenders, at least in the Western Conference.

Nuggets Right on the Edge of Top 5 Title Contenders?

Upon the closeout of this year's Finals between the Knicks and Spurs, ESPN wasted no time in dropping their post-Finals power rankings, sorting out how teams in the league are shaking out from top to bottom, even if we're still four months away from the start of next regular season.

The top of the list was how you'd expect it to go: the OKC Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and the New York Knicks rounded out the top three, and rightfully so. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons trailed right behind them.

But not too far behind those five sits the Nuggets at the sixth spot; good for the third-best in the West, and potentially hinting that their title hopes are only a few steps away.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon didn't hold back when it came to the uncertainty that lies ahead for Denver's offseason in his evaluation. Though with a three-time MVP like Nikola Jokic on the roster, they can't be totally counted out from being among the group of top contenders.

"After a first-round elimination, the only certainty with the Nuggets' roster is that three-time MVP Nikola Jokic will be on it," MacMahon wrote. "Denver is in the difficult position of needing to upgrade the roster to contend with San Antonio and Oklahoma City, but with little paths with which to do so, having already traded multiple future first-round picks, including a pair owed to the Thunder."

Nuggets Sit in a Solid Position, But They've Got Work to Do

When factoring in the uncertainty ahead for this summer, it's tough to truly gauge how the Nuggets' roster is going to look within four months from now.

However, at the very least, they're pretty clearly in a better spot than over two-thirds of the league in terms of their ability to win right now. They've got two All-NBA talents on the roster, one of them being in the conversation for the best basketball player in the world, and a good chunk of the core that led them to a Finals victory just three seasons ago is still in town.

Most of their key players from last season are under contract for at least the next year too––outside of Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. At the same time, that doesn't mean there won't be several changes to shake up this starting five and the bench behind them.

Apr 25, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman reacts to a call in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Part of that will be due to the financial hurdles that the Nuggets will be eager to get over.

There's virtually no route that Denver can take to retain Watson and Jones while also staying under the second apron. That sets up for a solid chance that the front office opts to make multiple cost-cutting moves around the edges to help alleviate that financial pressure.

As to what exactly the Nuggets will do to cut costs remains to be seen. And in doing so, the front office will also be due for a few roster changes to patch the glaring holes that came up this past season that prevented them from having a true ceiling as a top contender when compared to teams like the Spurs and Thunder.

So the Nuggets will almost certainly have a busy summer ahead of them to ensure their status as a serious competitor for next season's Larry O'Brien. But at the very least, they're still within striking distance thanks to the core components they have onboard.

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