The Denver Nuggets return to Ball Arena for their 2025-26 NBA regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, but this is no ordinary closing act. Just two weeks after an instant classic that featured a memorable duel between Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama, the Nuggets are rolling the dice with an unconventional starting lineup amid significant absences.
It was only on April 4 when these Western Conference contenders clashed in Denver. Jokic and Wembanyama traded timely shots down the stretch in a thrilling overtime battle. In the end, the three-time MVP delivered the decisive blow, hitting Wembanyama — the consensus favorite for Defensive Player of the Year — with his signature one-legged turnaround jumper, affectionately known as the “Somber Shuffle.” Jokic finished with a monster stat line, and the Nuggets emerged victorious in that memorable showdown.
Tonight, however, the script has changed dramatically. The Spurs enter as the sturdy No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets sit at No. 3 with their final seeding still in flux. A win or favorable results elsewhere (including the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz) could keep Denver in the third spot; a different outcome might drop them to fourth. With the playoffs looming, seeding carries real weight for home-court advantage in the first round.
The bigger story, though, revolves around Denver’s injury-riddled and rest-focused approach. Multiple key players are sidelined, forcing the Nuggets into a high-stakes gamble centered squarely on their franchise cornerstone.
Denver Nuggets Roll Out Starting Five in Strange Regular Season Finale
This has been a tale of two halves for the Nuggets. They started the season strong before cooling off considerably. For an extended stretch beginning in the new year, Denver hovered around .500 basketball, plagued by injuries and stretches of uncharacteristically flat play.
Through it all, Nikola Jokic has once again authored an MVP-caliber campaign. The 31-year-old has averaged a triple-double for the second time in his career — a feat matched in the modern era only by his former teammate Russell Westbrook in terms of full-season occurrences. Jokic’s brilliance, however, was interrupted by injury around midseason. Had he stayed healthy, he would have easily cleared the 65-game threshold required for postseason award eligibility.
Instead, Jokic sits just short, meaning he must suit up tonight to log the necessary minutes and become eligible for individual honors. The Nuggets are prioritizing health heading into the playoffs, but the league’s rule leaves them little choice.
In a season finale that feels more like a calculated risk than a celebration, here is the unusual starting five Denver is deploying at Ball Arena:
- Tyus Jones
- Bruce Brown
- Julian Strawther
- Zeke Nnaji
- Nikola Jokic
This group represents a heavy dose of bench and developmental pieces surrounding the lone superstar. With stars like Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon among those unavailable, and other regulars getting rest, the Nuggets are essentially fielding a makeshift unit for this matchup.
How Denver Will Manage Jokic Tonight
In an ideal scenario, Monday would have been a complete rest night for Jokic, granting him more than a full week to recover before the intensity of the postseason begins. Reality, dictated by the 65-game rule, demands otherwise.
The plan appears straightforward: Jokic will play enough to satisfy the eligibility requirement — at minimum around 15 minutes — before checking out. Nuggets coaches and medical staff are expected to monitor him closely, prioritizing his long-term availability over any late-game heroics in a low-stakes (for seeding purposes) contest filled with absences on both sides.
On the season, Denver sits at 52-28 (noting recent updates place them around 53-28) and has won 11 straight games after a difficult March. The offense has regained its rhythm and shown explosive potential at times, though defensive consistency remains a concern in high-pressure moments.
The Spurs, boasting one of the league’s top records and led by the ascendant Wembanyama, present a tough stylistic challenge. Yet with both teams managing rotations and key players out, the outcome feels secondary to Denver’s bigger picture.
For the Nuggets, the real season ignites in roughly a week when the playoffs commence. Tonight’s “gutsy gamble” — trotting out this wild starting five while carefully deploying Jokic — reflects a franchise balancing immediate rule compliance with the paramount goal of postseason readiness.
Whether the makeshift lineup can keep things competitive or if the Spurs pull away, one thing is clear: Denver is playing the long game. The Joker will get his minutes, the eligibility box will be checked, and the focus will immediately shift to Game 1 of the first round.
Hang on, Nuggets Nation — this bizarre regular-season sendoff is all about calculated risk in pursuit of deeper playoff glory.