There have been a couple of bright spots to start the Denver Nuggets' 2026-27 season. Jamal Murray's been red hot to start the year, averaging 25.8 points and shooting a blistering 53.5% from three after his 7-for-9 performance against the Phoenix Suns. His 7-for-9 three-point effort was matched by Christian Braun, who is also off to a great start to the year both offensively and defensively. But the biggest highlight for most Nuggets fans is new fan favorite, second-round pick Trevon Brazile.
Brazile is going to have more highlight-reel plays as the season unfolds, and he's ready for them. Braun threw Brazile a high lob that only Brazile was going to catch and finish for the dunk in the Suns game. Brazile's 7-foot-4 wingspan and 41.5" vertical leap on his 6-foot-10 frame were on full display, and he's let the team know they can basically just throw it up high and he's going to finish the dunk.
"He [Braun] threw it high enough, but I want like, a little wider you know? So I can actually throw something crazy down. They all know I like my passes real high. You know, you can throw it anywhere at the rim, I'm going to get it," Brazile said after Nuggets practice in preparation to take on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Brazile's dunking and leaping are reminiscent of another Nuggets fan favorite from many years ago, Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who spent seven seasons with the Nuggets during the Carmelo Anthony years. Except Brazile might be even more athletic than Birdman, and Brazile can shoot and rebound even better.
Brazile has been impressive on offense and defense
Brazile isn't just a highlight reel dunker. His energy on defense has been incredible, and he's ranked number one in eFG% (effective field goal) vs. expectation AND 3P% vs. expectation per HoopsJunkie. In other words, good luck getting a shot off over that long frame and vert! And with Brazile on the floor, the Nuggets' defensive rating per 100 possessions is just 106.4, which would put the Nuggets at 5th overall if that number translated across an entire game.
Offensively, Brazile has been able to help with floor spacing as a backup small forward by knocking down threes at 35.3% and pulling his defender out of the paint. Brazile is shooting 51.6% overall, and he's a constant lob threat in the dunker spot as the backup four to Aaron Gordon. And his rebounding is spectacular, already bringing in 6.6 per game, with a high of 12 in the opener of his debut game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sure, Brazile is a rookie, and there will be growing pains as he's out of position from time to time. But his athleticism makes up for it, and you can see his basketball IQ grow game by game.
He's certainly well on his way to becoming one of the fans' favorite players, and I suspect he'll soon be pushing Nikola Jokic for jersey sales as he keeps adding to his highlight reel.
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