Oddsmakers gave the Nuggets the fourth-highest win total in the NBA

The Denver Nuggets had a bit of a down year in 2025.

While they won 50 games en route to being the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, they were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference Semifinals after having multiple chances to take control of the series. They were tied for the sixth-most wins in the league, but a season highlighted by a spring cleaning and a weak roster showed the flaws within the organization as arguably the best season of Nikola Jokic’s career ended without a championship.

Jokic put together arguably the best season of his career en route to finishing second in the MVP race, but he just didn’t have the assets next to him on the court to take down the eventual champions.

A handful of roster transactions have put the Nuggets back in contention on paper, as the new front office combination of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace heard Jokic loud and clear when he said that the team didn’t have enough to compete with the top teams in the NBA. With the additions of Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas and the swap of Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets suddenly have one of the best rosters in the league, and the oddsmakers are taking note.

2026 NBA win total over/unders via @DKSportsbook

Which ones are easy picks?

OKC 62.5
CLE 55.5
HOU 54.5
DEN 53.5
NYK 52.5
MIN 51.5
ORL 51.5
LAL 47.5
GSW 47.5
ATL 46.5
LAC 45.5
MIL 45.5
DET 45.5
BOS 43.5
SAS 43.5
PHI 43.5
MEM 40.5
IND 39.5
DAL…

— databallr (@databallr) July 7, 2025

With the line set at 53.5 wins, the Nuggets’ total is the third-highest mark in the Western Conference and fourth-highest in the NBA, per DraftKings and BetOnline. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets have higher totals. The Thunder and the Cavaliers are looking to run things back in the regular season after being the top teams in their respective conferences, while the Rockets are looking to recapture the success of the 2019 squad after they acquired Kevin Durant in a trade earlier this offseason.

While 53.5 might not seem like a number that’s a super high total, the Nuggets have only eclipsed that mark two times in the Jokic era — first in 2019 when they won 54 games and again in 2024 when they won 57 games. They went under the total this past season (51.5) after going over in 2024 (52.5), 2023 (51.5), 2022 (47.5) and 2021 (44.5).

Houston and Cleveland had two of the biggest jumps from last season’s opening win totals, with an increase in 10 and eight, respectively. Phoenix, Boston, New Orleans and Dallas all dropped at least 10 games from last year’s mark. The Knicks are the only team who stayed pat, as their total of 52.5 wins didn’t change from a season ago.

If Jokic and the Nuggets can stay healthy next year, and if Valanciunas plays for Denver instead of heading overseas to Greece, that number should be well within reach for a team that’s looking to raise another banner at Ball Arena. The Western Conference might be loaded, but Denver has the best player in the world and a lot of talent to go alongside him.

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