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Matt Brooks

Peyton Watson established himself as a rotation player in his second NBA season. He's a big part of Denver's future and is already one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA.

Watson spent most of his rookie season with the Nuggets' G-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, but impressed in his limited NBA minutes toward the end of the 2022-23 season. As such, he was given a much larger role in 2023-24 and flourished. The 21-year-old received playing time in 81 out of Denver's 82 total games.

The UCLA product showed signs of growth as a scorer, particularly in the midrange, and was a menace defensively. He ranked atop the league in multiple individual defensive statistics. Denver tinkered with his responsibilities and gave him valuable time at the four. There, he manned the two dunker spots in an Aaron Gordon-light role and finished plays. An estimated 61 percent of his total minutes came at power forward.

All in all, Watson was a huge bright spot for the Nuggets in 2023-24. There's a world where he becomes a major bridge player for the franchise going forward because of his upside.

Highlights from Watson's sophomore season

Watson was effective almost immediately. He scored 17 points off the bench on 8-of-11 shooting in Denver's third regular season game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

From December 14th to December 20th, Watson had a four-game streak of double-digit points. In two of those games, he grabbed 7 rebounds and went a combined 7-of-11 from behind the arc. His 18-point, 7-rebound, and season-high 5-assist outing against the Brooklyn Nets on December 14th highlighted that strong stretch.

Watson scored a career-high 20 points on December 28th against the Memphis Grizzlies in his first-ever start. Memphis gave him space on the perimeter, and he made them pay by draining a career-high 4 three-pointers on 10 attempts (40 percent). He also tallied 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

He followed that up with a 19-point outing on January 4th in Denver's dramatic comeback win against the Golden State Warriors. This included a massive three-pointer in crunch time.

Watson was a shot-blocking menace in the middle of January and swatted 10 total shots in four games from January 19th to January 27th. He recorded a then-career-high 4 blocks, to go with 11 points, on February 22nd against the Washington Wizards.

The 21-year-old had an excellent final three weeks of the regular season, especially defensively. On March 25th versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Watson set his career-high in total rebounds with 9. He also tacked on 10 points and 3 blocks.

He then blocked 5 total shots on April 6th against the Atlanta Hawks to go with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Peyton followed that up by tying his career-high in boards with another 9-rebound outing on April 9th, this time against the Utah Jazz.

The very next night when Denver was on back-to-back, Watson set his career-high in blocked shots with a ridiculous 6 rejections versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 10th. That game played a huge role in Denver securing second place in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the Timberwolves.

Those 6 rejections were tied for the most blocked shots in a single game by a player 6'8 or below in five years.

Opponents shot just 50.5 percent when directly challenging Watson at the rim. That's the second-best&nbsp;at-rim defensive field goal percentage&nbsp;in the NBA (minimum 200 shots). Only Ivica Zubac, a center, protected the basket better. Watson led all wings and guards in this category.

Watson held his matchups to just 42.4 percent shooting from the field. That ranked third out of the 264 players who contested 400 or more field goals.

In 2023-24, Peyton became the first player in NBA history to have at least 80 total blocks, 40 total steals, and 40 total made threes while averaging 20 or fewer minutes per game.

Watson blocked 88 total shots this season. That's tied with Toronto's Scottie Barnes for the most&nbsp;blocked shots by a player 6'10 or below. His 88 total blocks were the most in a season by an NBA player with five or fewer starts since Nerlens Noel in 2018-19 for the Thunder (96).

He had two different games in 2023-24 with at least 5 blocks while coming off the bench. The only other NBA player with multiple five-block games as a reserve this season was Walker Kessler (four). Overall, Watson had eight games of 3 or more blocks.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Peyton Watson

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was an incredible glue guy for the Nuggets in 2023-24. He played an integral role in Denver's second-ranked starting five according to regular-season net rating.

Caldwell-Pope remains one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, an expert screen navigator who blows up opposing pick-and-rolls and handoff plays regularly. In fact, 2023-24 might've been his best defensive season yet; he was just a few votes shy of making one of the two All-Defensive teams.

On the other side of the ball, he spaced the floor as an elite 3-and-D player who can do a little more, particularly from the midrange.

Highlights from KCP's second season in Denver

KCP began the year with a big 20-point performance to go with 3 steals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nuggets Ring Night. He snagged a season-high 5 steals a game later against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kenny P was in his passing bag in November, tossing out 7 assists to go with 15 points against the New Orleans Pelicans. He then followed that up by slinging a season-high 8 dimes a week later.

From November 20th to December 1st, he had a seven-game streak of double-figure points. In two of those games, he scored 20: November 20th against the Detroit Pistons and November 24th versus the Houston Rockets.

Caldwell-Pope closed the season strong with two huge performances. On March 31st against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. He went 6-of-9 from deep for what was then his season-high in three-pointers made.

KCP tied that season-high in three-pointers when he went 6-of-9 from distance on April 6th against the Hawks. That led to a 24-point performance, a high for him in scoring this season, on 9-of-12 from the field. He also ripped away 2 steals in Atlanta.

In the postseason, Caldwell-Pope had a big Game 4 in the first round. He scored 14 points and tallied a playoff-run-high 4 steals versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

One round later, he played a big role in Denver's 15-point blowout road victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5. Kenny P scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

For the third time in four seasons, KCP shot at least 40 percent from three-point land.

He shot a career-high 46 percent from the midrange.

Caldwell-Pope shot a career-high 89.4 percent from the free-throw line. He was Denver's best free-throw shooter.

Collectively, he shot 40.6 percent from three and 89.4 percent from the free-throw line this season. Among Denver players with at least 100 free-throw attempts and 100 attempted three-pointers in a season, the only other player to hit those marks is Chauncey Billups, who did so in 2008-09 and 2010-11.

KCP is the second Nuggets player to have at least 90 steals and 90 made threes in each of his first two seasons with the team. The other is Michael Adams, who did so in all four of his seasons with Denver (1987-88 to 1990-91).

Denver was plus-13.4 points per 100 possessions better on offense with Caldwell-Pope on the floor. That's the best mark of offensive efficiency in his career, and only Jokić made a bigger impact on Denver's offense.

Over the last two seasons, the Nuggets are 105-47 (.691) in regular-season games started by Caldwell-Pope. That's the third-most wins by an active NBA starter since 2022-23.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Reggie Jackson had a memorable year with the Denver Nuggets in his twelfth NBA season.

He signed on as a backup point guard in the summer of 2023 but was quickly elevated to a starting role when Jamal Murray went down with a hamstring strain. Reggie would go on to start at lead guard in 23 total games.

Jackson did not miss a game this year, regular season and postseason included. This was the Colorado kid's first full year with his hometown team. He had some great moments with the Nuggets. Let's touch on a few of them.

Jackson started the season off strong with a 16-point and 6-assist outing against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 27th in Denver's second regular season game.

Murray injured his hamstring on November 4th. He would go on to miss almost a month of basketball.

Jackson, as mentioned, stepped in for Murray. In his second start, he poured in 20 points and 6 assists versus the Golden State Warriors on November 8th. That kickstarted an excellent stretch for Reggie, who tallied 14 or more points in four consecutive games.

On November 20th, the Nuggets played the Detroit Pistons. Jackson responded with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 6 assists against his former team.

Jackson had another 20-point night on 70 percent shooting to go with 7 rebounds and 6 assists against the San Antonio Spurs on November 26th. The very next day, the Nuggets traveled to Los Angeles to play the Clippers on a back-to-back; because of the rigorous scheduling, the team elected to rest most of their starters.

So, that brings us to November 27th at the Crypto.com Arena, one of the most memorable moments of Denver's 2023-24 season. The Nuggets got heroic efforts from two veterans on their roster, Jackson and DeAndre Jordan, and pulled off one of the most shocking victories of the season on the road as heavy underdogs. The two veterans absolutely decimated LA's defense with their lethal pick-and-roll game.

Jordan secured a double-double with 13 rebounds and 21 points, the most points he's scored since 2018. Jackson, meanwhile, led Denver in the scoring department with 35 points on 15-of-19 shooting and 3-of-4 from deep, 13 assists, and 5 rebounds. This is the most points he's scored in a double-double in his entire career. He also became just the third Nugget guard to score at least 35 points with 10 assists in a road game since 2000-01 and the first since Allen Iverson in 2007.

Jackson would go on to score 20 or more points three more times as a starter, highlighted by a 25-point showing against the Chicago Bulls on December 12th.

Murray returned to the lineup full-time on December 14th, and Jackson pitched in yet another 20-point showing on 9-of-12 shooting while coming off the bench on December 18th.

Altogether, Jackson averaged 15.8 points, 5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds on 51.4 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from three-point land from November 8th to December 18th. He scored 20 or more points eight times in 20 games.

To close the year, Jackson reached double-figures in five straight games from March 23rd to March 31st. That was highlighted by a 23-point showing on 7-of-12 shooting against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Reggie Jackson had the highest assist-to-turnover ratio of his career at 2.91. 

He shot 40.3 percent on catch-and-shoot three-pointers.

Reggie (age 34) was the oldest player in the NBA this season to play in all 82 regular-season games and is the oldest to do so since Marcin Gortat in 2017-18.

He averaged 15.4 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.4 rebounds on 49.3 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from behind the arc as a starter.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Reggie Jackson

Micheal Porter Jr. had his healthiest NBA season in 2023-24 and blossomed because of it.

The 25-year-old is now two seasons removed from his third back surgery. Last summer was the first healthy offseason of his career, and he used the time to round out his game. Porter Jr. told reporters that suiting up for a career-high 81 games was the thing he was most proud of this season.

He's long been one of the best three-point marksmen in the league, and he improved as an overall scorer in 2023-24. Mike finished the regular season as the NBA's best midrange shooter. Certain shots, like his trusty floater, became a staple in MPJ's game when run off the three-point line.

He continues to improve defensively, especially off the ball, and he's been an excellent rebounder since making his NBA debut in 2019. All Porter Jr. needed was time on the court to show how well-versed his game can be.

Porter Jr. scored 20 or more points nine times in his first 20 games. That was highlighted by a five-game stretch where he averaged 23 points on 52.3 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from behind the arc, plus 8.4 rebounds, from November 3rd to November 12th.

At the end of November versus the Houston Rockets, Porter Jr. put up 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting and a season-high 7 made three-pointers to go with 10 rebounds. This was one of his 14 double-doubles in 2023-24.

Porter Jr. tallied another double-double on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked a season-high 4 shots.

Just before the All-Star break, Porter Jr. scored 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers, foreshadowing his outrageous conclusion to the regular season.

Because, yes, coming out of the break, Porter Jr. could not miss. Literally. Mike scored 25 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting line against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 2nd. He also scooped up 10 rebounds for yet another double-double.

Just before that, Porter Jr. had two 30-point double-doubles. He scored a season-high 34 points and tallied 12 rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 23rd...

And he followed that up with 30 points and 11 rebounds against the Miami HEAT on February 29th in a 2023 NBA Finals rematch.

Porter Jr. hit the 30-point mark once more when he notched 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting against the New York Knicks on March 21st. He averaged 20.4 points on 55.9 percent shooting and 43.8 percent from distance in the first month coming out of the All-Star break.

He concluded the regular season by snagging a season-high 16 rebounds to go with 15 points against the San Antonio Spurs on April 2nd.

The University of Missouri product reached new heights in the 2024 postseason against the Los Angeles Lakers. Porter Jr. scored 20 or more points in four of five games in the first round.

Porter Jr. canned 6 of Denver's 8 total made three-pointers in Game 2 to finish with 22 points on the night.

Mike was brilliant again in Game 3 when he tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, and a playoff run-high 3 assists. This was the first of two double-doubles in the series.

MPJ scored 27 points in Game 4, a high for him in the 2024 postseason. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, another playoff-high this season.

He closed the series out strong with 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 5-of-7 from deep in the closeout Game 5.

Mike shot the best&nbsp;percentage from the midrange&nbsp;in the&nbsp;entire NBA&nbsp;at 52.4 percent (minimum 200 attempts).

He averaged a playoff series-best 22.8 points per game against the Lakers. MPJ also shot 55.3 percent from the field, 48.8 percent from three-point land, and grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game in the first round.

Porter Jr. played a career-high 81 games. He missed just one total game, regular season and postseason included!

Porter Jr. led the Nuggets in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage (42.9 percent) and wide-open three-point percentage (44.7 percent) in the regular season. He continues to be one of the best spot-up shooters and floor-spacers in the NBA.

Mike averaged a career-high 1.5&nbsp;assists in the regular season.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Michael Porter Jr.

Christian Braun has been nothing but a resounding success since being drafted by the Nuggets 21st overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

In his rookie season, he quickly established himself as a fixture in Micheal Malone's rotation. He then had a tremendous playoff run and became just the fourth rookie of the last 20 years to drop at least 15 points in an NBA Finals game.

His second year in the NBA was about continued growth. The coaching staff put more responsibility on his plate in terms of ball-handling and creation duties, and though there were understandable growing pains, Braun became a more versatile pro who set career highs in numerous counting statistics. He played perhaps the best basketball of his young career in the 2024 postseason, even closing some games against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

CB's still the same hard-nosed player who hangs his hat on defense, but he's elevated the rest of his skill set. His three-point shooting has improved, as has his ball-handling and floor-mapping. Testing the limits of his ceiling worked well for Denver; he exits the year as a better and more skilled player. General Manager, Calvin Booth, even recently called Braun a starting caliber wing.

Braun showed signs of comfortability in mid-November when he reached double figures for five straight games. That was highlighted by his November 17th performance against the New Orleans Pelicans when CB dazzled with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists off the bench. Those 25 points wound up being a season-high for the then-22-year-old, and he made 3 of his 5 three-pointers.

The University of Kansas product notched his first-ever double-double on February 22nd against the Washington Wizards when he scored 12 points and scooped up 10 rebounds.

In late March, Braun had back-to-back 17-point outings against the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies. That was when we really started to see the fruits of Braun's labor while acclimating to his new role. He looked as comfortable as we'd seen him taking the ball up the court after rebounds and hoisting shots off the dribble.

Braun went a combined 15-of-25 from the field during this two-game stretch, and he accumulated 13 total rebounds and 8 assists.

In Denver's final game of the regular season, he registered his second career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, plus 5 assists.

Braun was a key member of Coach Malone's playoff rotation and averaged a career-high 17 minutes per game off the bench. He put up 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Braun was even better in the second round against Minnesota and was tasked with guarding Timberwolves superstar, Anthony Edwards. He was up for the challenge and held Edwards to 4-of-12 shooting (33.3 percent) in 26:35 total minutes.

On the other side of the ball, CB scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. He filled the box score in Game 5 with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks against Minnesota.

Braun played in all 82 games this year. He's the seventh 22-year-old in franchise history to suit up for that many games in a season.

Christian also became the first player in Nuggets franchise history to play more than 90 games (regular season and postseason) in each of his first two seasons in the NBA.

He finished the year with 42 steals, 35 blocks, and 63 total made three-pointers, making him the fourth-youngest player in franchise history to tally at least 35 steals, 35 blocks, and 50 three-pointers in a season.

Christian set career-highs&nbsp;in points (7.3), rebounds (3.7), assists (1.6), and blocks per game (0.4) in the regular season. He followed that up by notching playoff career-highs in minutes (17), points (5.1), rebounds (2.7), assists (0.8), and blocks per game (0.4) in the 2024 postseason.

He shot a career-high 38.4 percent from three-point land on 164 total attempts, 1.8 percent better than the league's average three-point percentage.

Braun made 42.9 percent of his&nbsp;above-the-break three-pointers. That finished seventh in the regular season for players that attempted at least 100 non-corner shots.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Christian Braun

Aaron Gordon had another strong year with the Nuggets in 2023-24. He played an integral role in Denver's starting lineup, which ranked second in the regular season according to net rating.

On offense, he filled the gaps admirably as a cutter and spacer in both the dunker spots and corners. He and Nikola Jokić's familiarity might be even better than ever. At one point in the season, Gordon joked that he and Nikola have a "mind meld" going on. Their alley-oop chemistry produced some of the finest highlights of the season.

On the other side of the floor, he remains one of the team's staunchest defenders, able to guard opposing star forwards at a top-tier level. Gordon's versatility has increased during his time in Denver, and he's even learned to man the center position in small-ball units with Jokić sits. Those lineups with Gordon at the five crushed in the regular season.

Gordon began the year with a bang on the Nuggets' Ring Night. He delivered 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in Denver's 119-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

He had a torrid November and reached double figures in ten consecutive games. In eight of those games, AG snagged at least 8 rebounds, and he recorded four of his 12 total double-doubles in this ten-game stretch.

The University of Arizona product had another double-double on Christmas Day with 16 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 10 rebounds in Denver's 120-114 win over Golden State.

The Warriors felt Gordon's wrath again just 10 days later when he finished with a season-high 30 points and 9 rebounds on January 4th.

Gordon was excellent in February and put up 10 or more points in twelve of thirteen games. During that stretch, he shot below 50 percent just once. February was highlighted by his 25-point and 15-rebound outing against the Sacramento Kings on the 14th.

The 28-year-old tallied a season-high 9 assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 10th in a game that would eventually play a pivotal role in Denver's second-place finish in the Western Conference.

The Nuggets' starting power forward turned things up another level in the postseason. He scored double-digit points in three of Denver's five games against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

Gordon scored 29 points and snagged 15 rebounds against the Lakers in Game 3. Only one other player in Nuggets franchise history has tallied that many points and rebounds in a playoff game—Nikola Jokić—who did it on ten separate occasions. Elite company for Mr. Nugget.

AG was even better against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. He was a double-figure scorer in five of the seven games in the series, and in three of those outings, he notched at least 17 points.

Gordon had a historical night in Game 4 against the Timberwolves and filled the box score with 27 points on 11-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He became the first player in NBA history to post at least 25 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals on 90 percent shooting in a single playoff game, per Stats Perform.

Gordon turned in a double-double two days later with 18 points and 10 rebounds, plus 5 assists, in Denver's 112-97 road victory over Minnesota in Game 5.

Gordon ranked sixth in the NBA in&nbsp;total dunks&nbsp;with 171.

He and Jokić were the NBA's best dunk tandem. Jokić assisted on 81 of Gordon's dunks, which paced the league.

He shot 70 percent&nbsp;near the rim&nbsp;for the fourth consecutive season. He's never been below 70 percent at the basket as a Nugget.

With 171 dunks and 40 made threes, Gordon joined Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, as the only players to make at least 150 dunks and 40 three-pointers in 2023-24.

AG was the NBA's best cutter&nbsp;according to points per possession&nbsp;for players with at least 100 cutting possessions.

The Nuggets outscored opponents by 4 points per 100 possessions with Gordon at center in the regular season.

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Nuggets 2023-24 Season-In-Review: Aaron Gordon

The Denver Nuggets had their final press conference of the season. KSE Vice Chairman, Josh Kroenke, Nuggets GM, Calvin Booth, and Head Coach, Michael Malone, addressed reporters about the 2023-24 season and a crucial summer ahead.

"As a coach, I'm thinking how do we win the next game? That's my job," Malone said about the dynamics of the Nuggets braintrust. "Calvin, as a GM, is thinking about how do we win the next couple of years? That's his job. Josh is overseeing all that and understanding how to piece all that together. That's what I love about being a part of this team—we're all working together."

Denver entered the 2023-24 season as defending champions after bringing the first-ever championship home last June. They came close but did not quite repeat, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven hard-fought games of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

"I think you always want to take time to let everything sink in and go back and take a quality look at everything that happened during the season and then make decisions from that point," Booth said on Thursday.

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to the NBA Draft in late June and free agency at the start of July, the Nuggets front office will develop a game plan for the 2024-25 season. One that puts the team in the best place possible to capture a second championship.

"That's something that we always do, win or lose, after each season. How can we be a better team next year from within, from a coaching standpoint, from a player development standpoint, from a draft standpoint? Whatever it may be. So, it wasn't the outcome that we all wanted, we realize that, but I still have a tremendous amount of confidence and faith in the group across the board. To sit up here with Josh and Calvin, and for us to be united and on the same page, that is really all that matters," Malone said.

The franchise is optimistic about their chances despite the second-round loss. Malone told reporters that trying to win a second consecutive championship was "hard." Fatigue was a major component in the follow-up season, but a summer of rest should do the core some good.

"We're going to put our heads together and figure out how we can keep improving. We have the best player in the world. We think we still have the best starting five in basketball," Kroenke said. "So, we don't think we're far off."

In short: don't expect any huge, wholesale changes to Denver's championship core.

"Maybe in our top seven, we can use a little bit more talent. Maybe there's a way to upgrade one or two positions and get a more accomplished NBA player for whatever slot they're taking," Booth said. "But I don't see anything crazy out of sorts for our roster."

The new CBA, or Collective Bargaining Agreement, will continue to inform the front office's decisions. As we wrote about in our sitdown with Nuggets Assistant GM, Tommy Balcetis, the CBA establishes two tax-paying tiers, the second of which is especially punitive. Being a second-tier tax team negates the ability to use certain team-building tactics, such as the Mid-Level Exception. Thus, teams have to get creative and build cost-controlled teams with these restrictions in mind.

Knowing this, Booth and the front office constructed a depth chart largely comprised of younger players on cheaper rookie-scale deals. In his eyes, this is the best way to retain talent; developing from within. It's too risky to build a team around veterans on cheaper deals, Booth explained. If they play well and succeed, they're likely to bolt in free agency in search of a larger payday.

"You can go one or two avenues," Booth said. "You can go get minimum [salaried] guys [worth $1-3 million] and try to get what you can out of them. And if you have tax issues, those guys, if they have good seasons, they're not going to be on your team next year. Or, you could try to draft and develop guys that you can have in your system for a number of years. And me personally, I believe a lot in continuity."

Booth stressed the importance of the 2K25 Las Vegas Summer League, among other things, when it came to developing the sea of prospects on the Nuggets roster.

"I think more than anything, they need more seasoning," Booth said. "They need to get in the gym and need to play Summer League. They need to get stronger."

A couple of players received major shoutouts for their contributions in the 2023-24 season. Starting small forward, Micheal Porter Jr., was one of them. He played in 81 out of 82 regular season games and had maybe his best playoff series to date in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Michael has been a huge part of winning a championship and everything we accomplished this year. I love the arc that he's on because he continued, he's not flattening out, there are no plateaus, and he's getting better. Offensive discipline, defensive awareness," said Malone. "As a coach, that's all I can ever ask for. You're willing to buy into and commit to everything I'm asking you to do."

Christian Braun also earned praise from Malone and Booth. In fact, the Nuggets general manager called him a starting-caliber second-year player.

"He obviously has the intangibles, the physical strength, athleticism, and defense. He's gonna have to make some improvements, as he has, shooting the ball. I don't know how you can see a player in his second year who's done what he's done and not think he has a chance to start," Booth said. "He's ahead of schedule in that regard."

One of the biggest questions for the Nuggets heading into the summer is starting shooting guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The 31-year-old has a player option on his two-year contract, meaning that he could test free agency. Regardless of what happens, it appears the Nuggets will do what they can to retain him. They'd love to have him back should he test the market.

"KCP has been a great addition the last couple of years. We obviously would love to have him back. We're going to take a hard look at what that looks like," Booth said.

Vice Chairman Kroenke also mentioned the importance of trying to build as good of a team as possible around Nikola Jokić, who he dubbed the best player in the world.

"When Nikola Jokić is on your roster, you're going for it. He’s the best player in the world, and you have a responsibility to him and the group to try to go for it," Kroenke said. "We're going to be aggressive. We still think we have one of the best teams in the league with a really good chance of winning the next year."

Now the fun part begins. Building the best possible roster around the core five. The Nuggets may not enter next season as defending champions, but they're ready for whatever challenges are ahead. They're ready to get back to work and host another parade down 17th Street to Civic Central Park.

"We're gonna go back to being the hunter. We now have another solid chip on our shoulder," Kroenke said. "I'm excited to see what the group can do to come back with that sort of motivation, with this type of experience underneath them."

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The Nuggets are ready to 'go back to being the hunter'

Nikola Jokić road to become a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player.

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The Road To The MV3: Nikola Jokić 🏆

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