NFLBy Jason Gulden
Welcome to the NBA season, Nuggets fans. The Denver Nuggets got their 2025-2026 season underway on Thursday, October 23rd, when they traveled to San Francisco, California, to take on the Golden State Warriors.
This game was strange before the tip. After many, many years of Thursday Night NBA basketball being on TNT, this year, ESPN has the coverage on Thursday night. Once the tip happened, it just got even weirder. You had someone who started the game 7-7 from 3pt range. We are not talking about Stephan Curry, more on him shortly. Wasn’t Jamal Murray, also more on him shortly.
It was none other than the man who has a regulation basketball hoop in his living room, Aaron Gordon. Gordon would steal the show for most of the night with his 50-point opening night. That would tie him with the 4th most points in an opener in NBA History. It was also Gordon’s career high in points and 3pt made in a game. He would finish by going 10-11 from the 3pt line. He broke Alex English’s franchise record for a season opener of 47 points from his 1985 season opener, also against the Golden State Warriors. His 10 threes would tie the NBA record for most three pointers made in a season opener. A record that was set in 2020 by former NBA player Terry Rozier.
Jamal Murray started his season off strong with a 25-point 10 10-assist game. Nikola Jokic, who is a triple-double machine, recorded his first triple-double of the season by going for 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Stephan Curry would break our hearts with some big threes late in the game and into overtime on his way to 42 points. Jimmy Butler would add 21 points. The Nuggets would fall to Golden State 137-131 in Overtime to start the season 0-1
Nuggets would make their home opener on Saturday night, October 25th, when they welcomed the new look Phoenix Suns to Ball Arena. Kevin Durant is no longer with the Suns as he moved on to the Houston Rockets. They still have Devin Booker, and he went off for 31 points and 7 assists to lead the Suns in both categories.
Unlike on Thursday game when the Nuggets only had 4 players score in double digits, Saturday night they had 7 players in double digits. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 23 points. Christian Braun rebounded nicely after struggling in Golden State by dropping 20 points on Phoenix.
Unfortunately, there was no 50-point outburst from Arron Gordon tonight as he would only have 17 points. He struggled at the 3-point line tonight by going 1-6 from behind the arc. Nikola Jokic had a quiet, 14-point 14 14-rebound, and 15-assist night to have his second triple-double of the season in as many games.
New Nuggets Cam Johnson would have 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas would score 12 points in their first home game as a Denver Nugget. Bruce Brown, in his first game in front of the home crowd as a Nugget since 2023, scored 11 points. The Nuggets would get to the .500 mark and a 1-1 record on the season with a 133-111 convincing victory over the Suns.
On Monday, October 27th, the Nuggets would play their first division game of the season. Coming into this season, the Nuggets had a 5-game losing streak against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nuggets looked to snap that streak with their first trip to Minneapolis this season.
News broke late Sunday night that Minnesota Timberwolves Superstar Anthony Edwards would be sidelined for at least a week with a strained right hamstring. It was next man up mentality for the Wolves in the game. Jaden McDaniels would lead the way for them with 25 points. Julius Randle would have a 24-point game and 7 rebounds. Naz Reid would lead them off the bench with 18 points and 7 rebounds.
Jamal Murray had another stellar game by going for 43 points. Shooting 16-29 from the field and 5-9 from behind the arc. Tim Hardaway Jr, son of former NBA superstar Tim Hardaway, had his first double-digit game as a Nugget when he had a 20-point night, shooting 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from behind the arc.
Nikola Jokic had a typical Jokic triple-double tonight. He went for 25 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists in a near-perfect game. He would go 9-10 from the field and 7-7 from the free-throw line. That would be Jokic’s third triple-double of the season. With that, he made more NBA history. He became the third player to have a triple-double in each of the first 3 games of the season. He joins former Nugget, Russell Westbrook, who accomplished it during the 2020-2021 season. During the 1960-1961 season, Oscar Robertson would have that same feat.
Nuggets would not only snap the 5-game losing streak to Minnesota, but they would also improve their record to 2-1 with their 127-114 victory.
Look ahead to the week to come for the Denver Nuggets. On Wednesday night, October 29th, they would welcome back to Denver, DeAndre Jordan and the New Orleans Pelicans to Ball Arena. On Halloween night, they will travel to Portland to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. It will also be the first game in group play of the Emirates NBA Cup. On Monday, November 3rd, they return to Ball Arena to welcome back Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings. On Wednesday, November 5th, we have a 2023 finals rematch against the Miami Heat.
Well, NBA fans, I will be back next week to recap those games and look forward to the following week. Until next time, everyone has a fun and safe Halloween weekend, and if you get the chance to watch basketball in the next week, let’s just hope it’s the Denver Nuggets you are watching. Talk to you all soon.
