For most of the past decade, the Denver Nuggets' NBA title hopes have hinged on the franchise's ability to assemble enough talent around Nikola Jokic.
That quest has taken memorable twists and turns: the evolution of Jamal Murray into bona fide sidekick, the franchise-changing trade for Aaron Gordon in 2021 and the emergence of Christian Braun and Bruce Brown during the 2023 championship run. Since that title, the capped-out Nuggets have slowly bled talent and failed to reach the conference finals in the past three seasons.
The constant focus on Denver's supporting cast has been a by-product of Jokic's dependability: The Serbian center has been the NBA's most consistent star of the 2020s, finishing first or second in Most Valuable Player voting for six straight seasons, ranking first in Player Efficiency Rating for six straight seasons and carrying Denver to eight straight playoffs and four straight 50-win campaigns.