Just over a week ago, the notion that the Denver Nuggets could find themselves on the brink of a first-round playoff exit seemed unthinkable. Even more unimaginable was the sudden chatter about potentially trading away their franchise cornerstone and other key stars. Yet here they are: down 1-3 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2026 NBA Western Conference First Round, with their season hanging by a thread ahead of Game 5 on Monday night at Ball Arena.
The questions swirling around the Nuggets have grown louder and more uncomfortable with each loss. Doubts about the team’s spirit, effort, and belief that the series is already over have surfaced—even against a shorthanded Minnesota squad missing stars Anthony Edwards (knee injury) and Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles tear, out for the season) for the remainder of the series. Ayo Dosunmu’s career-high 43-point explosion in Game 4 helped the Timberwolves cruise to a 112-96 victory, pushing Denver to the edge.
Compounding the crisis is the surprising dip in play from Nikola Jokic. The 31-year-old three-time MVP, long regarded by many as the best player in the world, has at times looked like the third-best option on his own team during this series. His usual dominance has been muted, raising eyebrows across the league as the Nuggets struggle to find answers.
If Denver falls in Game 5, the door swings wide open to an offseason of radical change. Three seasons ago, this roster felt destined for sustained contention. Jokic was 28 and still ascending, Jamal Murray was 26 and emerging as a bona fide star, and Aaron Gordon provided the ideal frontcourt complement to the pass-first MVP. It was supposed to be the Nuggets’ league for the foreseeable future.
That narrative has crumbled in recent games. According to Matt Moore, a longtime Nuggets reporter and host of the “Locked on Nuggets” podcast, a series-clinching loss would immediately trigger the toughest questions the organization has faced in years.
“If they lose the series, the next question becomes, ‘Is Nikola Jokic gonna sign the extension?’” Moore noted.
Jokic is currently in the third year of his five-year supermax deal, locked in through the 2026-27 season with a player option for 2027-28. While he has publicly expressed a desire to remain a Nugget long-term, superstars in the NBA have shown time and again that championship contention—or the lack thereof—can quickly shift priorities. Winning keeps everything stable; prolonged struggles can make situations untenable.
Moore has even floated the possibility of Jokic requesting a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, a destination some believe could appeal to the Serbian star if he feels he can no longer chase titles in Denver. As a megastar who has earned elite supporting casts throughout his prime, Jokic could force sticky conversations if he determines another ring requires a new home.
The alternative to a full rebuild around Jokic would involve keeping the big man but overhauling the roster dramatically. That path puts Murray and Gordon squarely in the crosshairs, as they represent the most movable high-value assets capable of returning significant talent in return.
Moore emphasized the stakes: “If this isn’t working and you have to reconfigure, everything is on the table. There’s nothing that is off the table except for trading Nikola; everything else has to be on the table for correcting it.”
He added that real change might require dealing one or both of the team’s most beloved players: “The only way to accomplish real chance is by trading one of the most beloved players, either Jamal, AG or both. Neither one of them deserves that. AG’s been a folk hero. Jamal’s had his best season and he might get moved because they don’t have a better option. It’s insane, but the stakes are that everything changes.”
A first-round exit would ignite sweeping national speculation, with every aspect of the core—from Jokic’s future commitment to the viability of Murray and Gordon—under intense scrutiny. Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and others could also enter the conversation as the Nuggets search for a reset.
Of course, winning still solves everything in the NBA. A victory in Game 5 at home would force a Game 6 in Minnesota, followed by a potential Game 7 back in Denver—where the Nuggets would like their chances against an injury-ravaged Timberwolves team. The series is not yet over, and Denver’s playoff pedigree offers a glimmer of hope for a historic comeback.
But if the troubling trends from the past three games persist, the Nuggets will confront an offseason defined by bombshell possibilities, including the once-unthinkable idea of reshaping or even dismantling their star core. The franchise that seemed built for long-term dominance now faces the harsh reality that nothing in the NBA is guaranteed—least of all loyalty when titles slip away.