If the Denver Nuggets are going to contend again, they'll need to figure out how to attack the basket—without going through Nikola Jokic.
The Denver Nuggets have a starting lineup that most teams could only dream of matching in talent and balance. Jamal Murray and Christian Braun share one of the best backcourts in the NBA, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are ideal complements at forward, and Nikola Jokic is a three-time MVP.
For as strong as that group is, there's a missing ingredient that may be equal in significance to the absence of ideal depth: The ability to create consistent dribble penetration.
It's difficult to criticize Denver for its quality on offense after it ranked No. 4 in offensive rating and No. 2 in eFG% in 2024-25. It's even more challenging to overlook the fact that Gordon, Jokic, Murray, and Porter have already led Denver to a championship.
As the Nuggets search for the missing ingredients for a second title run, however, they should look no further than their inability to create consistent dribble penetration.
Denver finished the 2024-25 regular season ranked dead last in both drives and points via drives. That inevitably reared its head during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, when the Nuggets' inability to create penetration placed an unsustainably heavy burden on Jokic's shoulders as a playmaker.
If the Nuggets are going to truly contend again, then they'll need to address that glaring issue during the 2025 NBA offseason.
Nuggets ranked dead last in points via drives in 2024-25
Situational offense tends to be the difference between winning and losing at the highest level. As such, statistics can often fail to reflect the true quality of a team in regard to how they're able to perform during high-pressure situations.
Denver's primary offensive issue is adequately reflected in the aforementioned statistic, however, and the path to improvement is unlikely to be found internally.
The bad news for the Nuggets is that they lack the ideal resources to make meaningful improvements. The upside, however, is that the trade market should give them choices worth considering—especially if they're willing to part with Michael Porter Jr.
In that scenario, the Nuggets could realistically acquire a player whose downhill scoring ability would unlock an entirely new level of their potential.
Refusing to trade Porter would make matters a bit more complicated, but it wouldn't eliminate the full scope of their options. Denver is $4,734,856 above the first apron, which limits its flexibility, but it isn't quite at the second apron—meaning it will have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception..
If the Nuggets find a way to get under the first apron, then their options would expand significantly with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal.
Perhaps a veteran like Malcolm Brogdon, who averaged 11.7 drives per game in 2024-25, would be willing to play for the mid-level exception after appearing in just 63 games over the past two seasons. That's mere speculation, but it's the optimistic side of Denver's predicament.
No matter the path that appears this summer, the Nuggets' front office will need to find creative solutions in order to adequately address the devastating lack of reliable sources of dribble penetration.