Denver Nuggets fans are still licking their wounds from last season’s second-round playoff exit. It feels like with every passing moment, the chance of winning another title in Nikola Jokic’s prime grows slimmer. This season, Denver has managed to stay in the playoff mix as the current No. 5 seed in the West, while Jokic is still delivering MVP numbers, the same old issues have plagued the team.

The Nuggets have been hit by injuries this season to Jokic (15 games) and Aaron Gordon, who has only suited up 23 times. Jamal Murray has had to up the gear to lead the team during those absences and has had to rely on a relatively slim core. 

One player who has seen a massive jump in game time has been Spencer Jones. The 24-year-old forward played just 20 bench games last season and averaged 6.3 minutes per game. This season, his minutes have more than tripled while playing 50 of Denver’s 58 games, in which he started 34.

In 2024, Spencer went undrafted, but he has quietly morphed from a two-way contract into a linchpin for Denver in a season ravaged by injuries to key forwards like Gordon and Cameron Johnson. As it turned out, being undrafted didn’t become a stumbling block for the Stanford product.

“Yeah, there was a thought that I would go undrafted; I knew I was gonna be at the tail end of the draft,” Jones told EssentiallySports. “And you know when you are at the tail end, you kind of know you are on so much contract, that two-way contract pretty much. You know if you’re picked after 45, you are more than likely on that two-way deal. So you are in a unique position where you can kind of choose your fit of a team.” 

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He initially ended up with the Portland Trail Blazers’ Summer League squad. But it was Denver, needing cost-effective depth, swooping in, signing him to a two-way deal in July 2024. His rookie year was a shuttle between the Nuggets and their G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, and he had just 20 NBA games with garbage minutes. This season, he has seen a massive upgrade in minutes. While it was unfortunate that the Nuggets had to watch key players go down, they are lucky to have someone to fill in.

Jones was slid into a starter role in late 2025 as the Nuggets searched for ways to play without Gordon, who suffered a hamstring injury in late November. The makeshift lineup did unexpectedly well as they lost only five of their 13 games in December, with Jones averaging 29 minutes per game. They also won 10 of their 15 games in January as the 24-year-old forward averaged 29.5 minutes over the month.

Learning to Play the Jokic Way

Denver was more than convinced by what it saw and converted Jones’ two-way pact to a standard NBA contract, making him playoff-eligible and locking in a restricted free agent this summer. Jones has amplified Jokic and Murray, the two Nuggets’ offensive engines. The three-time MVP is averaging a near career-high 28.1 points to go along with 12.4 rebounds and 9.8 assists this season. Murray is averaging a career-high this season. Jones provides both spacing and stretching defenses. He has hit double figures in scoring 12 times, including a career-high 28 against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 1.

Stars like Jokic and Murray win games, but depth wins rings. The Nuggets’ frontcourt injuries have exposed vulnerabilities that, fortunately, have been covered for most parts this season. Jones stepped in as the X-factor and has been welcomed quite well. Jones also credited one teammate for extending his mentorship and helping accelerate his growth as he slipped into his role.

“Aaron Gordon, when I slipped into kind of his role as he was out, really helped me figure out like the dunker spot,” he expressed. “Like how to move, because I’ve never played that position, because it’s like it’s right on the baseline, right under the rim, and it’s prioritized on, you know, you’re moving around how the offensive moves, and especially it’s really around Jokic. Where he posts up, when they double him, where do you want to be? And if you learn it, you get very easy baskets off it because Jokic is a very good passer. But you also have to learn when to move, when to cut, you know, and where to be, where he expects you to be.”

Just like Jokic, who was drafted 41st during a Taco Bell commercial, the Nuggets may have to lean on an undrafted star to be their glue heading into the postseason. Jones wants to improve his game mechanics as well, which may well see him lock in a permanent starting spot in Denver. 

“The biggest thing for my growth off the court that I’m trying to focus on is being very efficient in my movement, one defensively in terms of how quick I can open my hips and how quick I can kind of shuffle my feet and stuff like that,” Jones explained. “That’s why I look at a lot in my biomechanics in terms of what muscles can I build and what muscles would be the most effective in building those kinds of efficient movements. Because that’s a big part of defense, is the angles you take, how quickly you take them, while also being strong enough to take bumps and hits and not get bumped off your spot.”

Since Denver’s 2023 championship, despite maintaining the same core of Jokic, Murray, and Gordon, the franchise has failed to look like a legitimate title threat. This year, on paper, it looks like it will be the same case yet again, with the other teams in the West having stronger star cores and substantially better depth. 

However, Denver’s Jones card may prove effective just as it has so far this season.