Thursday afternoon turned out to be the most happening day in the NBA-verse. The league finally released the 2025-26 season game schedules! Now, the fans, precisely the Nuggets Nation, will have something to wait for. “Stop what you’re doing and sync your calendar.” The Denver Nuggets‘ Instagram admin wasn’t bluffing with the posts. They enter the new season with one goal… Win another NBA championship. Another ring for the Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray duo.

Denver walked into the offseason like a painter ready to reinvent the entire canvas. First, they splashed color with a trade for Cam Johnson, the sweet-shooting forward built for big moments. Then, they brought back Bruce Brown, the 2023 champion who knows the franchise’s heartbeat. To finish the masterpiece, they added Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr., two veterans who ooze experience. Thus, on paper, this is the richest talent pool Nikola Jokic has ever dived into.

But before champagne dreams and parade routes, reality steps in. The West is a jungle, fierce and unrelenting, where every win is a jewel in the crown. Denver’s mission begins with securing a top seed, and that means every one of the 82 games carries weight. It will be a grind, a gauntlet, a season where stamina meets swagger. Which brings us right to the main course — the Nuggets’ regular season schedule.

Main takeaways from the Denver Nuggets 2025-26 NBA Schedule

26 nationally televised games, including 12 on ESPN/ABC

The Denver Nuggets are stepping into the spotlight with 26 nationally televised games this season. Twelve are on ESPN/ABC, six on NBC, five on Prime, and three on Peacock. The journey begins in enemy territory against the four-time champion Golden State Warriors. Last year, the Dubs stunned the league by adding six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, yet Jokic & Co. own this rivalry, winning 12 of the last 14 since 2021.

The calendar saves its sparkle for December 25. Christmas Day basketball is the NBA’s grand stage, and Denver has earned an invite for the fifth time in six years. This time, home fans get the gift. Under the holiday lights, they face the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8:30 p.m. MT, a matchup fueled by recent playoff clashes and a taste of unfinished business in the West.

The Denver Nuggets meet the defending champions

The rematch everyone circled in ink comes late; however, Denver and Oklahoma City will only collide from February onward, allowing anticipation to build toward basketball theater. In their last Western Conference Semi-Finals, the battle stretched to seven games of razor-sharp tension. During that series, Aaron Gordon averaged 13.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and shot 44.1 percent from deep, highlighted by his unforgettable Game 1 winner. Although the Thunder escaped, Denver never forgot.

Oklahoma City Thunder now wears the champion’s crown and will defend it against every storm. Denver is one of the fiercest. Four clashes await — February 1 at home, February 27 in Oklahoma, March 9 again on the road, and April 10 back in Denver. All are under the bright lights of national TV. Expect fireworks, grudges, and maybe a few legends born.

A series of back-to-back games for Nikola Jokic & Co.

Back-to-backs remain the NBA’s cruelest little endurance test. In 2025-26, the Nuggets stare down 16 of them, exactly matching last year’s tally. The twist is in the pacing — 7 hits in the first 41 games, while the final 9 pile up in the last three months. November alone packs 4, three of which bump shoulders with Emirates NBA Cup games on November 7-8, November 21-22, and November 28-29, making for a caffeinated start to the tournament.

The grind sharpens in January with 5 back-to-backs, the heaviest load of any month. Travel adds another layer of sting. Six are road-road, four are home-road, two are road-home, and four are home-home. In 10 of the 16, Denver plays the second night on enemy hardwood. Those dates scatter from October 31-November 1 all the way to April 11-12, creating a schedule built to test legs, lungs, and maybe even sanity.

Road game rages on for David Adelman’s boys

Denver’s biggest road adventure of the season stretches to seven games, which is two more than last year’s trek. However, the silver lining is the breathing room, as 12 full days cover the journey and all opponents come from the Eastern Conference. The trip begins in Orlando on December 27, then continues to Miami on December 29, and afterward crosses into Toronto for a December 31 showdown to close the year.

The new year then kicks off with a Cleveland clash on January 2 against a squad that racked up 64 wins last season. From there, the grind intensifies with a back-to-back in Brooklyn on January 4 and Philadelphia on January 5. Finally, the marathon concludes on January 7 in Boston, wrapping up seven games in seven cities with a test that could either break a team or sharpen it into steel.

Jan 29: Michael Porter Jr.’s homecoming

Just so you know, January 29 will be heavy on nostalgia and high on emotion at Ball Arena. Michael Porter Jr. returns to Denver for the first time since his July 8 trade to Brooklyn, a move that sent shockwaves through the franchise. The Nuggets dealt the 15th pick of the 2018 Draft, who averaged 18.2 points on 50.4 percent shooting and 39.5 percent from three last season, plus an unprotected 2032 first-rounder, for sharpshooter Cam Johnson.

Denver made the deal as the centerpiece of an offseason overhaul to boost depth and expectations for 2025-26. They also reached an agreement with Bruce Brown, a key guard from their 2023 title run. Porter closes a chapter in Nuggets history, yet the team will honor his return with a tribute fit for a champion. The night promises cheers, chills, and maybe a few misty eyes.

March will be a tough month for the Nuggets

January might look like the grind’s grand stage, with 17 games in 31 days and five back-to-backs, but March is where the real gauntlet hides. From March 1 against Minnesota to March 14 against the Lakers, Denver packs eight games into 14 days. Three back-to-backs, five playoff teams, and travel sprinkled in. It is the kind of stretch that tests both lungs and legacy. The madness begins at home on March 1 before a quick trip to Utah on March 2.

Denver has dominated Utah lately, winning six straight games last season with scorelines like 129–103, 122–103, 132–121, and 129–93. After two days’ rest, March 5 brings Luka Doncic and the Lakers, followed by the Knicks on March 6. The Lakers still lead 115–81 all-time, yet Denver’s recent clashes keep the fire alive. OKC visit on March 9, Houston lands March 11, then it’s straight to San Antonio for March 12. The curtain falls in Los Angeles on March 14, with playoff seeding hanging in the balance.

Well, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets step into 2025-26 like a band ready to headline the biggest tour of their lives. Every stop matters. Christmas clashes ignite the calendar, champion rematches spark the rivalries, seven-city road marathons test endurance, and March’s playoff-shaping gauntlet sets the stage. New faces sharpen the arsenal, old rivals fuel the fire. The mission stays pure. Another ring. Another parade. Another chapter for the ages.