The Denver Nuggets' rotation is going to see some changes from how they finished last season-- mostly within the second unit.
And one of those changes will inevitably be deciding on their new backup center behind Nikola Jokic; a role that was primarily claimed by Jonas Valanciunas last season, but has since been left open now that the veteran center has decided to sign overseas this summer .
So who will be the one claiming the Nuggets' backup center role to start the regular season in a little less than two weeks?
Well, based on the Nuggets' small, but potentially meaningful, preseason sample size of two games, there seems to be one favorite in the mix to secure those backup center duties: and that's offseason addition Marvin Bagley III .
Once the writing was on the wall for Valanciunas' future in Denver, the Nuggets decided to bring in Bagley on a one-year, veteran minimum deal as he proved last season with the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks that he's well capable of being a rotational big man.
And in his first two games with the Nuggets, it's becoming pretty clear that Denver's coaching staff sees him as well capable of handling that role too.
Bagley has handled 14 minutes a night in each of his two preseason showings thus far, most notably being the first center to come in for Jokic upon first substitutions in the first quarter for both outings.
Of course, virtually every player on the Nuggets' roster is going to find their way to a few minutes throughout these five exhibition games. Seeing Bagley out there is zero surprise. But to see Denver not only handing him extended playing time, but also the patterns of running him with the second unit lineups for both games, it tends to be pretty telling.
Oct 4, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Marvin Bagley III (3) during the first half against the Utah Jazz at CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
When taking a step back to see what this center battle could feasibly look like, the Nuggets have three clear candidates who could take ahold of said spot : that's Bagley, 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes, and their veteran big man Zeke Nnaji, who's still handling around the roster.
However, when stacking up Bagley's case against those two, Holmes certainly doesn't have the proven production or experience as the other two, while Nnaji has seemingly been built as a third-string center for the past several years who can play minutes in a pinch.
Bagley appears to be clear step above both in terms of his skillset, and he's getting a lot more opportunities in preseason that shows the Nuggets already trust him more with big minutes.
So if that trend holds up moving into the regular season, it feels reasonable to expect that the Nuggets will be handing Bagley around 15 minutes a night, while Nnaji and Holmes end up as DNP's more often than not.
A lot can change over the course of the regular season-- and even for the three games that remain in the Nuggets' preseason slate-- but if all holds to form, Denver's second-unit frontcourt of Bagley, Spencer Jones, and DeMar DeRozan feels pretty settled.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/nuggets/onsi as Nuggets Have Clear Front-Runner Emerging as Their Backup Center .
