May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) and center Nikola Jokic (15) and guard Christian Braun (0) in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game six of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

NBA GMs Predict Where Nuggets Will Finish in West

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Last season, the Denver Nuggets finished their 2024-25 campaign with their third-straight year logging over 50 wins, securing a 50-32 overall record to finish fourth in the Western Conference.

Fast forward to the year ahead, and the Nuggets want to take another step forward. Following a summer of roster tweaks and improvements, Denver looks primed for yet another 50-plus win campaign led by and MVP-level season from Nikola Jokic, set to finish among the top of the conference as a true top-end title contender come time for the postseason.

NBA general managers seem to share those same high expectations for the Nuggets this season too.

During the NBA's annual GM poll surveying a variety of questions on topics involving the league, one of those questions tasked those GMS to project the top of the East and West at the end of the season, and who the top-four seeds in each could be.

The Nuggets, were overwhelmingly projected to become the second seed in the West– with 53% of voted for the second-best team in the conference opting to go with Denver.

via NBA.com | John Schuhmann

The top vote-getter in the West was, of course, the reigning champion OKC Thunder, who got a considerable chunk of first-place votes with 87%. Denver, though, was second in those one-seed votes with 10% choosing the Nuggets as the team with the best shot to best the Thunder.

In all, 90% of voters in front offices chose the Nuggets as a top-four seed in the West— a testament to the league's belief in Denver’s overall success for the year ahead, and gives some credit for their offseason moves to shake up the starting lineup by adding Cam Johnson, as well as filling out the second unit.

This time last year, the general managers nailed their number-one seed prediction with the Thunder landing atop the conference, and wound up pinning the Nuggets as the three-seed at year's end. They'd end up being just a smidge behind that projection at the four-seed.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

It won't be easy for the Nuggets to walk to a top-two seed in the West. The surrounding talent in the conference is just as good, if not better, than what was thrown out last season, meaning the standings could be a narrow battle towards the end of the year.

Denver made their own respective improvements by adding names like Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas, but they'll not only have to maintain their level from last year, but improve their standing from the previous campaign to meet their projections.

Those sitting upstairs around the league see the Nuggets as more than capable of making that step up in the West, though time will tell if the offseason changes made enough of a dent to make those aspired strides.