The Denver Nuggets had a disappointing end to their season when they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but that doesn't mean that the Nuggets should be counted out going forward. 

Despite a season riddled with injuries, Denver still persevered to finish the regular season as the 3-seed in the Western Conference behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs and as long Nikola Jokic headlines the Denver roster, the Nuggets have a chance to be a tough team to beat. 

That's certainly what Cam Johnson thinks. When he recently appeared on the Old Man and the Three Podcast, Johnson expressed an optimistic projection for who the Nuggets can be next season, even with the tough competition around them in their conference.

"We can be that team come out of the West next year, I thought we could have been that this year," Johnson said (via The Old Man and the Three). 

With the offseason having just fully begun, it still remains to be seen what the Nuggets roster will look like next season and especially if the dynamic duo of Jokic and Jamal Murray will stay in tact.

But should that pair remain on the court or the Nuggets make moves to add another superstar into the mix, Johnson and the Nuggets have every right to believe that they'll stay one of the premier teams in the NBA. 

Of course, that task only becomes more difficult with the Thunder staying competitive and the young Spurs only keep growing into their own as a dominant team and there is the question of what the other top teams in the Western Conference will do to stay competitive, so it shouldn't be an assumption that Denver will reign supreme. 

There's also a degree of luck and good fortune that the Nuggets will need to have that can dictate their season. When it comes to injuries, they certainly didn't have good fortune in either the regular season or the postseason, but if the chips fall their way in 2026-27 and they can keep their roster on the floor, they'll have far better chances.

As of now, there's nothing but what-ifs and what-could-be's to speculate on what the Nuggets are capable of, but that doesn't disregard that the Nuggets have a solid core to work with and a several season history of success to inform Johnson's confidence.