Less than a week after the NBA released the Christmas Day schedule showcasing an intriguingNuggets vs. the Suns matchup, they have now set Denver's season opener. Joker and company will tip off with the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 24th, and the game will be nationally televised on TNT.
Last season, the Nuggets began their season with their ring night against the Los Angeles Lakers. This year, they will have no banner to raise, but there are two storylines that are still incredibly mouth-watering.
1. The Best in the West are clashing early
The first main storyline is that this is a clash between the two best regular-season Western Conference teams from last year. Despite their combined playoff woes, both the Nuggets and the Thunder were elite after 82 games in 2023-24. The two teams tied for the best record at 57-25 and were awarded the top two seeds in the West for the playoffs (Oklahoma City #1 and Denver #2).
The two Northwest Division teams were also alike in that they never got too high or too low and were the epitome of consistency. Neither team ever had a losing streak of more than three games, but both also never exceeded a winning streak of 6 games.
2. We get to enjoy an MVP vs. a potential MVP
The other main storyline from this season-opening matchup is that the 2023-24 MVP, Nikola Jokic, will get to immediately face off with the MVP runner-up, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. There isn’t nearly as much controversy surrounding SGA vs. Jokic as there was in previous years when the MVP conversation included 76ers injury-riddled megastar, Joel Embiid. Regardless, watching two MVP candidates compete in a season opener is always fun.
Last season, Jokic averaged 26.4 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 9.0 APG while shooting 58.3% from the field. Meanwhile, SGA averaged 30.1 PPG, 6.2 APG, 5.5 RPG and 2.0 SPG, while shooting a career-high 53.5% from the field. Both the Nuggets and the Thunder will have extremely high expectations this year and the season could not start off with a better test for each contender.