Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman speaks on where his team finishing in the West.
The Denver Nuggets secured the third seed in the West on Sunday with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
There was much chatter going into the game about how much the Nuggets cared about getting the three seed compared to the four seed, and that chatter only escalated when they decided to rest all their starters except Nikola Jokic, who needed to play 15 minutes to hit 65 games played.
Meanwhile, the Spurs played all of their key players with the exception of Victor Wembanyama, who was dealing with a rib injury and met the 65-game requirement in the previous game.
If the Nuggets won, they would lock up the three seed and play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. If the Nuggets lost, and the Los Angeles Lakers won, Denver would've fallen to four and met the Houston Rockets in the first round.
No Ducking
Speaking after their victory over the Spurs, Nuggets head coach David Adelman addressed the matchup with the Timberwolves.
"We've played so many times over the years, playoffs and regular season, we know each other. We know it's going to be a battle. It always is with that team. I know this, you can't duck opponents. They didn't want to duck us. We're not ducking anybody. Everybody talks about the best matchup and all these things, you don't know what's going to happen," he said.
The Timberwolves and Nuggets met in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Coming off an NBA Championship, the Nuggets led the series 3-2 and led Game 7, 53-38 at the half. The Timberwolves managed to come back to win Game 7, upsetting the defending champions.
Adelman continued, 'If you're asking to play against Kevin Durant. What? The opponent is the opponent. We have a ton of respect for them, as I know they do for us. It's going to be a hell of a series. "
Season Series
Denver won the regular season series 3-1. Three of those games, all Denver wins, took place before the start of 2026, while the Timberwolves lone victory came on March 1. Aaron Gordon did not play for the Nuggets in that game.
The two teams played an overtime thriller on Christmas Day with the Nuggets outlasting the Wolves to win 142-138.
The first round matchup begins on Saturday, April 18 with two games at Ball Arena before the series shifts to Minnesota for two games.