In 2023, the Denver Nuggets looked every bit like the team of the future. Denver won the 2023 NBA championship behind a starting lineup whose oldest member was 29-year-old Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. At that point, many agreed that if their core remained together and healthy, they would be the team to beat in the West.
However, the Nuggets gave up one player after another from that title team and since then, they have not made it past the second round of the playoffs, including a first-round playoff exit last season. Looking back at what happened, Michael Porter Jr. says the Nuggets played their cards poorly after winning the title in 2023.
"They messed it up, man. We had the solidified best starting five in the league…I'm talking about complementary pieces. You have Joker, then you have me and KCP, knockdown shooters on the wing, then we had AG in the dunker, pretty much the best dunker player in the NBA. And then Jamal Murray of the pick-and-roll with that two-man game. We had crazy chemistry," said Porter.
The season after winning the championship, the Nuggets lost key bench players in Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, Thomas Bryant, and Ish Smith. They especially felt the loss of Brown, who averaged 11.5 points per game during their title-winning campaign and was one of seven players who averaged in double digits.
Still, Denver won 57 regular-season games, but they were eliminated in the second round by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a series that went the full seven-game route.
Then, in the summer of 2024, the Nuggets let KCP walk and he signed with the Orlando Magic. That offseason, Denver also traded Reggie Jackson. They would go 50-32 and lose in the second round again, this time to the eventual 2025 champions, the OKC Thunder.
"The thing is, we won the championship, and they let Pope go. They let KCP go. He's a vital piece….I don't know why they let Pope go," he added. "That was the beginning of the downfall. And I'm about to do Pope's podcast in a week or two."
"But that was the beginning of the downfall. But we still went to Game 7 with Minnesota after Tim Connelly built Minnesota to try to beat us with two bigs. They tried to build that team to beat us, and they got us in Game 7. So then, they let us run back another year, and that's when we lost to OKC," Porter added.
MPJ had a subpar 2025 postseason because he was bothered by a shoulder injury. Despite playing hurt, the Nuggets traded him to the Brooklyn Nets during the offseason for Cam Johnson. Denver had a better regular season at 54-28, but for the second time in three years, they were eliminated by the Timberwolves.
This summer, the Nuggets traded Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, leaving Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Zeke Nnaji as the only players from their 2023 title team.
"It's like slowly…As long as you got Joker, Jamal, AG, and Deebo's over there, Cam's obviously a good player, CB…They're still good, but like, we had some camaraderie, but it is what it is," MPJ concluded.
Joker has opted to wait for the summer of 2027 to sign an extension, as he will be eligible to ink a five-year $359.5 million extension by then. However, without a contract past this season, who knows what he might do if they have another disappointing finish?
Now, Jokic has said he wants to finish his career in Denver, but it would be such a waste of his prime if the Nuggets don't make it back to the Finals.
Related: "That wouldn't be fair" – Michael Porter Jr. opposes transgender athletes playing in WNBA
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Aug 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
