ESPN puts out post-finals NBA power rankings, how do Nuggets stack up?

In the modern sports media landscape, the race to be first plays a crucial role. So it should come as no surprise that as soon as the NBA Finals came to an end, media companies were immediately churning out content revolving around this off-season and even next season. The champagne was still flowing in the Celtics’ locker room and sports sites were previewing the 2024-25 season.

One of the first such publications to drop was on ESPN.com as they released their “NBA Power Rankings, way-too-early edition: Our post-Finals look at all 30 teams' 2024-25” late on Monday night while the confetti was still falling from the TD Garden rafters. To nobody’s surprise, and deservedly so, the Boston Celtics took the #1 spot in the rankings.

Celtics top the rankings

The Celtics just steamrolled their way to a championship, losing just three playoff games and never even being pushed to a game 6 in any series. They’ll also return their top 8 players for next season and have almost all their own draft picks to work with. They are set up for the future about as well as any team could possibly be in the modern NBA.

Nuggets come in at 2nd in rankings

But right behind the Celtics at #2 in the rankings was your very own Denver Nuggets. Despite losing in the second round of the playoffs this season, many still believe the Nuggets are the team best set up to compete with the Celtics. They should still be the favorites in a loaded Western Conference next season and may be aided by having a slightly long offseason, and not having to play deep into June.

We’ve spent plenty of time highlighting the roster issues and concerns for the Nuggets going forward, but that’s going to be a common theme all around the league. It’s going to get harder and harder for front offices to keep championship rosters intact.

Despite their concerns, the Nuggets have MVP Nikola Jokic locked in long-term. As long as he’s around, they’ll have a fighting chance. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are both extension-eligible and should be around for the long haul as well. The team has to decide what to do with Michael Porter Jr., retaining Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be a challenge, and the bench needs to improve.

Western Conference dominates rankings

But overall, this is a good reminder that the Nuggets outlook is still favorable to almost any other team in the league. The West will be a gauntlet, but Denver is well-positioned to get back to the top. The reigning Western champs, the Mavericks came in at #3 in the rankings, the team that knocked out the Nuggets, the Timberwolves were #4, and the top seed from the West, the Thunder were #5 in the rankings.