When people are making noise about the Denver Nuggets, it’s usually some sort of primal expression of wonder in awe of Nikola Jokic.
There is certainly plenty of that happening once again this season, especially after his double-nickel scoring performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back this past Wednesday. While his individual brilliance is astonishing, there is something else happening in Denver that deserves your attention.
Perhaps even worthy of a Shams Charania breaking news tweet, the 9-2 Nuggets are a top-three defensive team! Per Cleaning the Glass, only the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons are ahead. This is a Nuggets team that has ranked in the top 10 just once the previous five seasons. Last season, they finished an abysmal 21st, which was the worst of any playoff team.
Moving on from head coach Michael Malone to promote David Adelman was an initial step toward improvement and their playoff run showed the machinations of a championship team very much remain in place.
This season’s games — and even glancing at the standings — indicate the Nuggets genuinely feel like the Thunder’s biggest threat right now. Their seven-game series last spring went back and forth the whole way. After winning it all, Oklahoma City players even admitted the Denver series was the one that created the most self-doubt.
Ultimately, the Nuggets did fall short, so did they need to find ways to close the gap. Here’s how Denver has transformed itself defensively.
Opponents Can’t Run On Nuggets Like They Used To
The Nuggets are still fairly pedestrian as a half-court defense, allowing 97.9 points per 100 half-court possessions, which ranks 18th league-wide. That’s nearly identical to the 98.6 points they allowed last season, when they finished 17th in that category.
What’s changed dramatically is their transition defense. Last season, Denver was the league’s worst defensive transition team, allowing a whopping 131.8 points per 100 transition possessions. This season, the Nuggets have vaulted all the way to third in transition defense, allowing just 106.1 points per 100 transition possessions, trailing only the Toronto Raptors and Thunder. They’ve also reduced how often teams get out on the run against them, improving from 15th in transition frequency last season to fourth this season.
Denver surrendered an average of 16.6 fast-break points per game last season and have brought that number down to 11.1 this year. That may not sound like a lot but it can’t be understated just how much of a difference-making swing that is.
In the playoffs, every transition opportunity feels like found gold as the game slows down and becomes more physical. A pull-up transition three, a rim-rattling dunk, a corner triple can be equal parts demoralizing for the defense and invigorating for the offense.
For a Nuggets team that can consistently be great offensively, each incremental defensive gain can have a compounding effect.
Asked Nikola Jokic about the defense of the Nuggets a unit that ranks second in the NBA behind only the defending champion Thunder
Jokic: “I think guys want to be better. I think we can be a really good defensive team. Guys want to play defense.” pic.twitter.com/pKZcoRKm1u
— Law Murray ⛲️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 13, 2025
Personnel Changes Making A Difference
You have to credit the Nuggets for some key personnel changes over the summer. Cameron Johnson has struggled offensively but has been a significant upgrade over Michael Porter Jr. defensively. Bruce Brown Jr. is effectively replacing Russell Westbrook’s minutes, which has been a huge plus as well.
Last season, Denver had a defensive rating of 116.2 with Westbrook on the floor, which was the team’s worst mark. The starting lineup of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Jokic and Porter allowed 114.4 points per 100 possession in 426 minutes, Without Porter, that number dropped to 105.6 in 123 minutes.
This season, the starting lineup with Johnson now in the mix has a defensive rating of 107.2 in 159 minutes. The Nuggets will have to find a suitable replacement for Christian Braun after it was reported he will miss at least the next six weeks with an ankle injury.
While that is an unfortunate injury, we also have to recognize the likes of Murray and Gordon have hit the ground running this season. That certainly has a carryover effect to the synergy defensively.
An X-factor, personnel-wise, has been some noteworthy minutes for forward Spencer Jones, who is currently on a two-way contract. He will possibly figure into the equation for more minutes in the absence of Braun and his 6-foot-7, 225-pound frame with a 6-foot-11 wingspan has made him a Swiss Army knife option defensively.
Are The Nuggets Getting A Bit Lucky With Shooting Variance?
This is a live by the three, die by the three league now. On average, nearly 40 percent of a team’s field goal attempts are from long distance. The Nuggets are right around that mark, with just over 39 percent of their opponent’s field goal attempts coming beyond the arc.
What’s certainly worth monitoring moving forward is how much teams improve their 3-point shooting against the Nuggets. Through the opening 11 games, opponents are shooting just 32.5 percent from three against them. That’s the second-best percentage allowed behind the Raptors. But is it a case of how well the Nuggets are defending the three or will the law of averages eventually play out?
According to NBA.com, a wide open shot is when a defender is at least six feet away from contesting a field goal. Denver has allowed the 10th-most wide open threes per game at 20.6. Opponents have only made 31.4 percent of those looks, the lowest mark of any team. The league-average mark on these shots is around 38-39 percent, so it feels as though a correction is due.
There’s not much to debate with regard to the Thunder being the league’s best defense. They have the best defensive rating by a significant margin and even their opponents are shooting 40.9 percent on wide open threes. That in itself gives you an idea of how unlikely it is that Denver opponents continue to shoot so poorly on wide open shots.
Is The Nuggets’ Defense For Real?
Transition defense was the biggest area for improvement this offseason and the Nuggets have addressed that.
Yes, the half-court defense is still just about average and the 3-point variance will come around. However, we have to remember the starting point is the Nuggets being bottom-10 defensively last season.
Even with some of the things that could work against them as the sample grows, there is enough to suggest this roster has the makings of a top-10 defense. Legitimate depth is keeping players fresher and the margin for error the offense allows is now being maximized on the other side of the ball. That’s why eight of their nine wins thus far have been by double-digits.
When you have arguably the best offensive hub in the game and the best overall offense, playing this kind of defense is going to make the Nuggets a much more difficult proposition than last season.
