NBA basketball returns Oct. 24. We are counting down the days like the seconds on a shot clock — literally, that’s what we’re doing. As of Oct. 1, our writers will list 24 storylines heading into the 2023-24 NBA season.

A new storyline will drop each day. Here is No. 1:

The Nuggets didn’t make any splashy moves this summer, but they still have Nikola Jokic. That’s enough to repeat.  

The world’s best player, Nikola Jokic, finally fully recognizes his ability to utilize the entire team on a night-to-night basis to determine Denver’s fate. That’s dangerous. Plus, the Nuggets return their entire starting five from a squad that nearly swept the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, overcame epic showings in the West semifinals from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker to best the Phoenix Suns, and blanked the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals to complete a 16-4 playoff run culminating in an NBA title.

We’ve seen just three repeat champions (Golden State, Miami and the Lakers) since 2010, and although this club lacks the star power of those teams, its pieces might fit a little better together than some want to admit.

The Nuggets lost key cogs via free agency in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. So, they’ll need even more from role players such as Christian Braun, Reggie Jackson, Peyton Watson, Justin Holiday and Zeke Nnaji. Rotations tighten once the postseason hits, so Denver needs that crew to make its impact for stretches during the regular season.

Then, there’s the matter of Denver’s No. 2 and No. 3 options: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Both should be even better in 2023-24. Murray missed the 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury and played 65 games last season, flexing the playmaking skills and clutch shooting during the postseason (26.1 ppg, 7.1 apg, 5.7 rpg, 1.5 spg) that we first witnessed in the 2020 NBA bubble (26.5 ppg, 6.6 apg, 4.8 rpg). Murray should be healthier and even fresher after withdrawing over the summer from the FIBA World Cup.

The silky-smooth shooting Porter, meanwhile, is arguably the most athletic player on the Nuggets roster. We just saw that athleticism in spurts last season, after the 25-year-old played in just nine games in 2021-22 due to his third back surgery. Porter continues to improve defensively and should be a more explosive player in 2023-24.

The ingredients are there for a repeat despite Denver staying pat in the offseason.

The rest of the league needed to play catchup.

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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