The Nuggets were undone last season by their bench play and overall lack of depth. It was a clear point of emphasis in the offseason for the new front office as they came in and immediately revamped the back half of the roster, and the positive impact has been immediate.
Last season, the Nuggets’ bench scored just 26.4 points per game on .435/.324/.705 shooting. In 2025-26, they're all the way up to 37.2 on .506/.375/.750. It has only been six games, and this is obviously a small sample size, but that’s a substantial improvement for that unit. The Nuggets invested in the problem, and they are already seeing results.
Furthermore, through the end of October, the Nuggets were leading the league in points per possession from plays involving two or more bench players. It’s one thing to improve the bench and hope that unit can be average, but the Nuggets went above and beyond and may have turned their biggest weakness into a strength.
Nuggets’ revamped bench already turning heads
Last season, the Nuggets were largely dependent on Russell Westbrook to run the bench, and they often lived and died with that roller-coaster ride. Russ did his best, and more than lived up to his contract, but his play style is so domineering and volatile that a change was clearly needed.
Denver used their extra savings from unloading Michael Porter Jr. and his contract to invest in the bench. They signed Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas to go along with young, up-and-coming holdovers like Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and DaRon Holmes II.
The team has gone from having an extremely unreliable bench with one or two steady players at best, to now being able to go 11 or 12 deep on any given night. They also have good positional versatility and the optionality to play in a variety of different ways.
It’s pretty wild to see this much of a transformation happen in one offseason, but it’s exactly what the franchise needed. There’s no guarantee that the Nuggets will win it all this year. They still have to deal with the Thunder and a bevy of other contenders.
But it no longer feels like they have to go to battle with one arm tied behind their back. The biggest issue has been resolved, and the Nuggets are on level terms with their competition now. Whether that’s enough to get back to the promised land remains to be seen.