Daily edition · Filed today
October 2, 2026
Two days to Boulder. The real season starts in Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets open preseason Sunday against Utah at CU Events Center — their first game in Boulder in more than a decade — still built around Nikola Jokić, and with DeMar DeRozan newly on the bench. Jokić has already said the sentence Denver wanted on the record: he plans to sign next summer if the franchise wants him.
- Sunday, Oct. 4, 5:00 p.m. MT: Jazz at Nuggets, CU Events Center, NBA TV. Denver returns the game Tuesday in Salt Lake City.
- The expected starters — Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Jokić — shared the floor for only 23 games last season and went 18–5.
- 2025–26 finished 54–28, third in the West, and out in six to Minnesota. The defense has ranked 21st for two straight seasons. That is the question David Adelman cannot coach around.
- Murray played 75 games and posted career highs of 25.4 points and 62.2% true shooting. Gordon played 36. Health, more than scheme, decides how far this group goes.
- In: DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III, Trevon Brazile, Alpha Diallo, Bryce Hopkins. Out: Peyton Watson (sign-and-trade), Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown.
- Opening night is Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Thunder, 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPN. The home opener is Saturday, Oct. 24, against New Orleans at Ball Arena.
Watch. Whether Adelman keeps DeRozan as a sixth man or lets the veteran scorer share the floor with the starters. Sunday in Boulder is the first look, not a verdict.