The day is finally here, Denver Nuggets basketball is back! The team opens up its preseason campaign on Saturday night, taking on the Timberwolves in San Diego at 7 PM MT. This will be the first chance to see the new-look Nuggets, after they traded away Michael Porter Jr. and added Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, and Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason.
Just about everyone is expected to play for both sides, with only Hunter Tyson and Leonard Miller appearing on the injury reports. We won’t see regular season minutes or rotations, but we should get a glimpse at what this team will look like and a preview of things to come.
Since the Nuggets won the title in 2023, the Wolves have owned this matchup, which has evolved into a serious rivalry. Minnesota stole away Tim Connelly, who promptly built a team designed to beat Denver. They did just that in the 2024 playoffs, knocking out the Nuggets in round two.
The Wolves followed up that performance with another trip to the Western Conference Finals last season before losing to the eventual champs, the Thunder. They haven’t gotten to the Finals, but they’ve fared better than the Nuggets in consecutive seasons, and they’ve had a much more positive trajectory with their young superstar, Anthony Edwards, still likely years away from his true prime.
Wolves/Nuggets matchup has seen a power shift this offseason
But it feels like there has finally been some momentum in the other direction this summer, as the Nuggets have revamped their roster with upgrades to both the starting lineup and bench. At the same time, the T-Wolves lost a key player, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, to the Hawks.
With Mike Conley getting older, they’re going to have to rely on a youth movement featuring unproven players like Rob Dillingham and Terrance Shannon Jr. to take on much bigger roles. But still, this team is loaded with talent, and Edwards should be better than ever.
They’re right on the precipice of contention, and with some internal development, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they’re right back in the conference finals in the spring. But the Nuggets have loftier goals than that. After two disappointing seasons, they’ve made major changes, and the mantra will be championship or bust for as long as Jokic is in his prime.
Minnesota may not quite have that level of urgency yet, but Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and others aren’t getting any younger, and nothing is guaranteed with Edwards and his future. The time is now for both of these rivals, and the journey begins on Saturday night.