It's been almost two weeks since Denver Nuggets fans watched Aaron Gordon play basketball, but at least on Tuesday, they got to watch him on "The Old Man and the Three" podcast with new host Cam Johnson. The interview with Gordon actually took place before the season started, but it was still encouraging to hear what AG had to say about the 2025-26 season, especially now.
Gordon said he believes the Nuggets will "be the ones that walk off with a win," meaning Denver will win the 2026 NBA Finals. He added, "Everyone else is going to hold an L at the end of the season. Except for us. We're going to be the ones to win at the end of the season."
The episode couldn't have dropped at a better time, as Denver dropped its last four games at Ball Arena against underwhelming opponents. The most recent loss came on Monday, when the Nuggets blew a double-digit lead and lost 131-121 to the Mavericks. As if that wasn't bad enough, Jamal Murray sprained his ankle in the loss and is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game in Indiana.
If Murray doesn't play, that means the Nuggets will be down three starters. He will join Gordon (hamstring) and Christian Braun (ankle) on the injured list. In theory, Denver should still be able to take down a battered Pacers squad, but the Nuggets have struggled against lesser opponents as of late.
All of that is to say that listening to what Gordon said gave fans some much-needed perspective on the long NBA season.
Aaron Gordon thinks the Nuggets will win another title (shocker)
Denver currently sits fourth in the West, 5.5 games behind the No. 1 Thunder, with a 14-6 record. The Nuggets are only one game back from the No. 2 Lakers. It's not like that's a bad position to be in as we near the end of the first quarter of the season, especially considering the injury blows Denver has taken over the past few weeks.
As disappointing as it was to watch the Nuggets lose to a lowly Kings team without Domantas Sabonis, and then lose to a Spurs team without Victor Wembanyama or Stephon Castle, and then lose to a Mavericks team that entered Monday's matchup with only six wins, the sky isn't falling.
Denver's championship expectations may make it feel like it is, though.
We're two days into December, and the Nuggets still have 62 games left to play before the playoffs start. Denver needs Gordon and Braun back, and can only hope that Murray's ankle injury doesn't linger. Luckily, it's not April, and the Nuggets aren't preparing to start the postseason without two key players, potentially three. Hopefully, that won't be the case come April, either.
Denver needs to take care of business tomorrow night in Indianapolis on what will be the first of four road games. All the Nuggets can do is take it one step at a time, and hopefully, as AG said, those steps will lead them back to celebrating a title as confetti falls from the ceiling.