The Denver Nuggets are coming into the 2026-27 regular season with a lot to prove and even if their offseason wasn't one filled with star-studded acquisitions, head coach David Adelman's belief in the team has seemingly never been higher. 

The frontline paring of center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray remains Denver's biggest strength and the moves that the team did make over the offseason, while not headline-grabbers, were supplemental additions that make the team more well-rounded. 

So even without an abundance of marquee talent, something that Adelman will readily admit the Nuggets don't have compared to years past, he believes that the team is ready to succeed in the Western Conference and beyond with a team that is greater than the sum of it's parts. 

"We've had more talented rosters here, but sometimes having the same kind of players 1-15 can hurt you in certain situations," Adelman said (via DNVR Nuggets). "So it's cool to have different kinds of players... We haven't had a guy like Tyus [Jones] in a long time... Marvin [Bagley III] is a lob threat. We haven't had that in a while."

The biggest positives about the current Denver roster compared to past rosters to Adelman is the diversity of talent that will be on the floor. Rather than running a team that is reliant on straight run-and-gun offense and shooting, the Nuggets have quietly accumulated players that can be effective throughout the floor. 

Jones can be a facilitator of offense in his own right while also being someone who can be effective both within the arc and beyond it. Guard Alpha Diallo is an effective defensive player that Adelman has already praised abundantly and with what Diallo can do both against offenses and physically within Denver's offense makes him encouraging.

Bagley III is another effective big man that, as Adelman said, is a true lob threat for the team and the pieces around him, like guard DeMar DeRozan, Jones and guard Jamal Murray, help set up those lobs to make the team that much more threatening inside the paint. 

Pairing all of these true role players with Jokic, who can run the floor no matter who is on it, goes a long way in making the Nuggets a multidimensional team that can be threatening against a variety of schemes working against them.

If the Nuggets are firing on all cylinders and able to use the variety of talent that Adelman is so fond of to the best of their abilities, the Nuggets have a very good chance to remain major players in the NBA even as the talent pool has grown around them. 

It will require proper execution and the benefit of health to see Adelman's vision come to fruition, but the pieces are there to see that the Nuggets are set up for success.