ESPN is high on the Nuggets in their way-too-early power ranking

The Denver Nuggets have been one of the winningest NBA teams over the last several years and ESPN’s experts expect that to continue come the 2024-25 season.

The folks at the four-letter ranked the Nuggets second and only behind the recently crowned champions as the best teams heading into the offseason. Boston has a relatively simple offseason making them for sure favorites for another title but only one team has repeated in the last decade with the last five champions not even getting past the second round the following season. That’s good news for the Nuggets but Denver does have a far more complex offseason with a huge question regarding the player option and possible extension of starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That issue will go hand in hand with how the Nuggets battle the new supertax (second apron) that they’re on the horizon of hitting, if they do it that will carry significant short-term and possible long-term ramifications which will restrict the rest of the Nuggets roster construction—though it might be worth it to keep the standout three-and-d two-time champion.

Naturally, the team that knocked the Nuggets out of the playoffs in a Game 7 comeback, Minnesota, is high up the rankings at four. The Wolves are just behind the team that eliminated them for a Finals trip in Dallas. The Nuggets, and Pacers are the only teams significantly out of order from how this postseason resulted. With more people having prognosticators having faith in a Nuggets rebound while at the same time thinking Indy’s year may have been flukey.

The NBA’s top 10 teams according to ESPN

1: Boston Celtics
2: Denver Nuggets
3: Dallas Mavericks
4: Minnesota Timberwolves
5: Oklahoma City Thunder
6: New York Knicks
7: Milwaukee Bucks
8: Philadelphia 76ers
9: Indiana Pacers
10: Los Angeles Clippers

While there are some questions about who the Nuggets will actually have on the court next year and if there will be a big shakeup—Michael Malone has proven that even with just Nikola Jokic and some miscast support that Denver is a playoff team. All the Nuggets have needed for home-court advantage in the past several seasons is Jokic and a significant chunk of action from Jamal Murray. Strangely the side-kicking guard’s second year back after knee surgery was more erratic than his first season. Though the Blue Arrow’s numbers were good, he battled leg issues all season and struggled to stay on the floor, eventually looking to be significantly hampered in the postseason.

The Nuggets will no doubt have their work cut out for them in the west, with Dallas surviving through the conference this season. They went from missing the playoffs to NBA runner-ups which is similar to Memphis who went from No. 2 seed in the regular season 2023 to missing the playoffs in 2024. The Mavs and Griz should both be back in 2025, with the addition of the No. 1 seed from a season ago in the young Thunder as well as the scary-in-Colorado Wolves. That’s not even to mention whatever remains of the Clippers Hall of Fame foursome, young and asset-rich Pelicans, star-led Suns, LeBron’s Lakers, and year two of Wemby in San Antonio. When talking about just all of that quickly, it’s easy to understand why Boston could again speed through the East given their best rivals have serious questions about the Knicks’ health, Bucks’ age and coaching and just generally whatever Joel Embiid is up to in Philly.

With Denver’s key pieces playing in Paris this summer, it’s now on Calvin Booth to get them some help and depth to carry the team through the regular season which grueled them in 2024.

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