Denver Nuggets Fantasy Basketball Season Recap

per Zak Hanshew, Rotomundo

Previous Team Recaps: DET, IT WAS, PER, ACS, SAS, Terms of reference, MEMO, UTA, BKN, ATL, CHI, OR, BAG, GSW, MIA, PHI, ENT, LAL, IND, CLE, PHX, NOR, THOUSAND, NYK, LACQUER, MINIMUM

At a glance:

Record: 57-25 (2nd, West)

Offensive Rating: 117.8 (5th)

Defensive rating: 112.3 (8th)

Net rating: 5.5 (4th)

Pace: 97.4 (26th)

2024 NBA Draft Picks: 28.56

The defending NBA champions didn’t repeat, but the Nuggets still had a great season behind MVP Nikola Jokic and a strong supporting cast. Denver made the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, and although their 57–25 record is tied for the best in team history since the merger, the Nuggets finished second in the Northwest Division and second in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City. 57-25. Thunder.

The Nuggets advanced from their first-round matchup with the Lakers, but inconceivably lost two straight at home to the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals. Denver won three of the next four to force Game 7, but Minnesota overcame a 20-point deficit to surprise the champions at Mile High.

Jokic was a fantasy stud once again, and Jamal Murray provided serviceable production when available. The rest of Denver’s starting five had tremendous fantasy value thanks to their availability. Where do fantasy managers go when evaluating Nuggets players in the 2024-25 fantasy drafts? Let’s dive!

Fantasy Spotlight: Nikola Jokic

All good things come to an end, right? Jokic’s streak of seasons finishing as fantasy basketball’s best overall player ended at three at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Joker showed that he is a mere mortal by finishing as the third-ranked Fantasy player per game. Without completely falling off his pedestal, Jokic was the best overall player in total fantasy value, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 boards, 9.0 dimes, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocks, and 1 .1 triples in 79 games. The big man shot 58.3% from the floor and 81.7% from the charity stripe.

Overall, most of Jokic’s counting stats were the second-best marks of his career, and he added more hardware to his trophy case with a third MVP in four seasons. thanks in part to his consistent availability. He played no less than 69 games in all nine professional seasons.

In 2023-24, he compiled 25 triple-doubles and surpassed Jason Kidd and LeBron James as the fourth-highest performer on the all-time leaderboard. Jokic is now just eight triple-doubles behind Magic Johnson on that illustrious list. He is one of five players to record at least 25 triple-doubles in a single season and one of three to do so multiple times.

The Joker is still in his prime and his skill set is something we’ve seen very few times in NBA history. Fantasy managers should have no qualms about picking him as a top-3 player in the 2024-25 Fantasy drafts, and he has a strong case to be the top overall Fantasy pick once again.

Fantasy Reveal: Jamal Murray

Availability was a concern for Murray once again, and he has played just 59 games in 2023-24. Over the past four seasons, he has logged 59, 48, 65 and 59 games respectively, missing the entire 2021-22 campaign. Murray finished 43rd in fantasy basketball value per game, the second-best mark of his career. The Blue Arrow averaged 21.2 points, 4.1 boards, 6.5 dimes, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 2.5 triples while shooting efficient splits of 48.1/ 85.3/42.5.

Although Murray had a productive regular season, he was even more electric in the playoffs. Murray’s playoff highlights included two first-round wins against Los Angeles and a half-court victory against Minnesota.

At this point in his career, Murray has shown what he brings to us each year. He will post a solid 20/4/5 line with a steal and a few three-pointers and will shoot efficiently from the floor and the charity stripe. Murray has a top floor of 75 and a top ceiling of 36, and availability is the only concern for the steady producer. Fantasy managers should have no problem picking him in the mid-round in the 2024-25 drafts.

Fantasy Disappointment: Christian Braun

Braun showed promise as a rookie in 2022-23, playing significant minutes for a championship-winning team in the regular season and during the playoffs. In the summer of 2023, Denver lost Jeff Green (19.5 MPG) and Bruce Brown (28.5 MPG) and did not bring in any key players to fill their roles. Cue Braun…right?

Unfortunately, he didn’t pan out for eager fantasy managers who enthusiastically drafted Braun as a late-round flyer in the 2023-24 drafts. His playing time increased from 15.5 minutes to 20.2, and he appeared in all 82 games, but averaged just 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals , 0.4 blocks and 0.8 triples. His efficiency suffered, and while his counting stats showed an improvement over his Year 1 performance, they certainly weren’t enough to make him viable in 12-team leagues.

Aside from Jamal Murray (59 games), Denver’s starting five played at least 73 games, and each starter averaged more than 31 minutes. Only Braun and Reggie Jackson logged at least 20 minutes per game off the bench, but it was Jackson (82 games) who started when Murray was out. Braun was unable to find significant playing time in Year 2, largely due to starter availability and the Nuggets’ tight rotation. He will face similar challenges in 2024-25 and is off the radar in standard leagues for now.

Fantasy Recaps/Predictions

Aaron Gordon: He carried an ADP of 118.4, and Gordon finished as the 127th ranked Fantasy player per game. He returned fairly similar value to where he was drafted from in that regard, but was much more valuable overall, finishing 83rd.

Gordon’s skill set isn’t very diverse. He averaged 13.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 0.5 triples while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 65.8% from the field. charity banner. As with Denver’s entire rotation, Gordon played his role perfectly, operating as a strong rebounder and defender while catching lobs from his MVP teammate. Gordon finished sixth in the NBA in total dunks with 171.

AG has been a top-140 player in value per game in each of the last three seasons and a top-100 player overall in two of them. He consistently contributes in rebounds and FG% and will offer useful production in points, assists and blocks.

Michael Porter Jr.: MPJ provided fantasy managers with another quality showing, posting averages of 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 dimes, 0.5 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 2.7 triples. The shooter made 48.4% of his shots from the floor and 83.6% of his free throws. He logged 31.7 minutes per contest and played in 81 games, easily the most of his career.

He ranked 71st in fantasy value per game, finishing in the top 80 for the second straight season and third time in the last four. Despite a strong regular season, Porter Jr. finished on a sour note, averaging just 6.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 triples while shooting 28.6% from the field and 19.0% from three in last four games of the Western Conference semifinals. MPJ will only be 26 next season and is entering his prime. Fantasy managers should expect more of the same from him in Year 6, making him a mid-to-late player in the 2024-25 drafts.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: He was the 101st ranked Fantasy player per game and 58th overall, but KCP’s value was primarily derived from his elite contributions in the steals category.

Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.6 triples while shooting 46.0% from the floor and 89.4 % of charity stripe. He wasn’t terribly damaging in any category, further boosting his fantasy stock. KCP logged 31.6 minutes in 76 games and appeared in at least that many games for the third straight season. He may not be exciting or offer tremendous production across multiple categories, but he is solid across the board and always available.

Peyton Watson: Watson’s minutes jumped from 8.1 as a rookie to 18.6 in Year 2, although his statistical production wasn’t enough to make him a viable option in standard leagues.

He wasn’t worth drafting into 12-team leagues, but Watson appears to have a bright future. He averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in limited playing time, showcasing his skills on both ends of the court. Finding meaningful playing time will be an issue, but he’s worth monitoring in 2024-25.

Reggie Jackson: Jackson logged just 22.2 minutes per game last season, the fewest since 2012-13 when he was with the Thunder. Jackson led the bench in minutes and appeared in all 82 regular season games, providing a boost off the bench as a scorer and facilitator. Jackson started 23 games and averaged 15.4 points, 2.4 boards, 5.3 dimes and 1.9 triples, admirably replacing Jamal Murray.

Jackson isn’t worth picking in most fantasy leagues, but he’s always a guy to look to as a top-end streamer when Murray misses time. He has a player option for the upcoming campaign, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he picked it up to remain with the Nuggets.

Julian Strawther: The rookie from Gonzaga averaged 4.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.8 triples in 10.9 minutes per game in 50 games. He didn’t start a single game, but dropped 22 points and six triples on December 11 against Atlanta when he played a season-high 28 minutes. Strawther is in the same situation as the rest of Denver’s bench, as he is unlikely to get many significant minutes barring injuries ahead of him on the depth chart.

DeAndre Jordan: He will be 36 years old when the 2024-25 campaign begins and has averaged less than 20 minutes per game in each of the last three. The days of “Lob City” are behind him and there is no need to draft Jordan outside of the major leagues.

Restricted Free Agents: Braxton Key, Jay Huff

Unrestricted Free Agents: Justin Holiday, DeAndre Jordan

Player Option: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson

Club option: Vlatko Cancar