One of the rising teams in the Western Conference over the years has been the Denver Nuggets and after making it to the Western Conference Semifinals in 2019 and then the Western Conference Finals in 2019, many expected the Nuggets to be able to take the “next step” this NBA season. 

For a while, the Denver Nuggets looked like one of the best teams in the league and they were getting ready to contend for top-seed in the Western Conference, but then their star guard Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL in his left knee with less than a minute to go against the Warriors on April 12. 

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Murray was playing so well for the Nuggets this season before suffering this season-ending injury and with him out, many expected this team to begin falling in the standings, but they won 13 of their remaining 18 regular season games and locked up the 3-seed in the Western Conference. After beating the Portland Trail Blazers 4-2 in their first-round series, Denver hit a wall and were swept by the Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals. 

Nikola Jokic was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2020-21 season, making him the first player in Nuggets’ team history to win the award, which was a big accomplishment for Denver this year, but overall, this season ended in disappointment for Denver and their fans. So now, like many teams this offseason, they will be asking the grand question of, “what’s next?” 

With Jamal Murray likely out until the 2021-22 All-Star break, missing the first-half of next season, the Nuggets will have a major void to fill on their roster. Will Denver look to make a big addition to their roster this offseason to replace Murray for the time being or will they continue to build and grow their young talents in order to continue being a rising team in the Western Conference? 

Denver has a lot of time to think about potential moves this offseason, but they will quickly turn their focus over to draft night, where they will likely be busy once again!