2020–21 Denver Nuggets season

The 2020–21 Denver Nuggets season is the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the franchise's 54th season of existence overall.

2020–21 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Michael Malone
General manager	Calvin Booth
President	Tim Connelly
Owners	Ann Walton Kroenke
Arena	Ball Arena[1]
Results
Record	12–9 (.571)
Place	Division: 2nd (Northwest) Conference: 4th (Western)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Altitude Sports and Entertainment
Radio	KKSE

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School / club team
1	22	Zeke Nnaji	PF/C	United States	Arizona

Roster

Roster listing

Denver Nuggets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G 5 Barton, Will 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1991-01-06 Memphis F/C 10 Bol, Bol 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-11-16 Oregon G 7 Campazzo, Facundo 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1991-03-23 Argentina F 31 Čančar, Vlatko 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 236 lb (107 kg) 1997-04-10 Slovenia G/F 35 Dozier, PJ 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-10-25 South Carolina F/C 0 Green, JaMychal 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 227 lb (103 kg) 1990-06-21 Alabama G 13 Hampton, R. J. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-02-07 Little Elm (TX) G 14 Harris, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994-09-14 Michigan State F/C 25 Hartenstein, Isaiah 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-05-05 Germany G 00 Howard, Markus (TW) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-03 Marquette C 15 Jokić, Nikola (C) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 284 lb (129 kg) 1995-02-19 Serbia F 4 Millsap, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1985-02-10 Louisiana Tech G 11 Morris, Monté 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1995-06-27 Iowa State G 27 Murray, Jamal 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1997-02-23 Kentucky F/C 22 Nnaji, Zeke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2001-01-09 Arizona F 1 Porter Jr., Michael 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1998-06-29 Missouri F 3 Whittington, Greg (TW) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1993-02-07 Georgetown	Head coach Michael Malone Assistant coach(es) David Adelman Ryan Bowen John Beckett Jordi Fernández Charles Klask Wes Unseld Jr. Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: December 1, 2020

Standings

Division

Northwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
Utah Jazz	19	5	.792	0.0	9–2	10–3	3–2	24
Denver Nuggets	12	10	.545	6.0	5–5	7–5	4–1	22
Portland Trail Blazers	12	10	.545	6.0	5–5	7–5	1–2	22
Oklahoma City Thunder	10	12	.455	8.0	3–8	7–4	2–3	22
Minnesota Timberwolves	6	17	.261	12.5	4–7	2–10	2–4	23

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Utah Jazz *	19	5	.792	–	24
2	Los Angeles Lakers *	18	6	.750	1.0	24
3	Los Angeles Clippers	17	8	.680	2.5	25
4	Phoenix Suns	13	9	.591	5.0	22
5	San Antonio Spurs *	13	10	.565	5.5	23
6	Denver Nuggets	12	10	.545	6.0	22
7	Portland Trail Blazers	12	10	.545	6.0	22
8	Golden State Warriors	12	11	.522	6.5	23
9	Sacramento Kings	12	11	.522	6.5	23
10	Houston Rockets	11	11	.500	7.0	22
11	Memphis Grizzlies	9	9	.500	7.0	18
12	New Orleans Pelicans	10	12	.455	8.0	22
13	Oklahoma City Thunder	10	12	.455	8.0	22
14	Dallas Mavericks	10	14	.417	9.0	24
15	Minnesota Timberwolves	6	17	.261	12.5	23

Game log

Preseason

2020 preseason game log Total: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
Preseason: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 12 @ Golden State L 105–107 Nikola Jokić (26) Nikola Jokić (10) Nikola Jokić (5) Chase Center 0 0–1 2 December 16 Portland W 126–95 Nikola Jokić (16) Nikola Jokić (11) Nikola Jokić (8) Ball Arena 0 1–1 3 December 18 Portland W 129–96 Paul Millsap (24) Michael Porter Jr. (9) Nikola Jokić (6) Ball Arena 0 2–1
2020–21 preseason schedule

Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 12–9 (Home: 5–5; Road: 8–4)
December: 1–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 23 Sacramento L 122–124 (OT) Nikola Jokić (29) Nikola Jokić (15) Nikola Jokić (14) Ball Arena 0 0–1 2 December 25 L.A. Clippers L 108–121 Nikola Jokić (24) Nikola Jokić (9) Nikola Jokić (10) Ball Arena 0 0–2 3 December 28 Houston W 124–111 Jamal Murray (21) Nikola Jokić (12) Nikola Jokić (18) Ball Arena 0 1–2 4 December 29 @ Sacramento L 115–125 Michael Porter Jr. (30) Nikola Jokić (11) Nikola Jokić (12) Golden 1 Center 0 1–3
January: 11–5 (Home: 4–3; Road: 7–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 January 1 Phoenix L 103–106 Jamal Murray (31) Nikola Jokić (9) Nikola Jokić (11) Ball Arena 0 1–4 6 January 3 @ Minnesota W 124–109 Jamal Murray (36) Nikola Jokić (12) Nikola Jokić (12) Target Center 0 2–4 7 January 5 Minnesota W 123–116 Nikola Jokić (35) Nikola Jokić (15) Nikola Jokić (6) Ball Arena 0 3–4 8 January 7 Dallas L 117–124 (OT) Nikola Jokić (38) Nikola Jokić (11) Jamal Murray (9) Ball Arena 0 3–5 9 January 9 @ Philadelphia W 115–103 Gary Harris (21) Nikola Jokić (9) Nikola Jokić (12) Wells Fargo Center 0 4–5 10 January 10 @ New York W 114–89 Nikola Jokić (22) Nikola Jokić (10) Nikola Jokić (5) Madison Square Garden 0 5–5 11 January 12 @ Brooklyn L 116–122 Nikola Jokić (23) Nikola Jokić (8) Nikola Jokić (11) Barclays Center 0 5–6 12 January 14 Golden State W 114–104 Nikola Jokić (23) Nikola Jokić (14) Nikola Jokić (10) Ball Arena 0 6–6 13 January 17 Utah L 105–109 Nikola Jokić (35) Nikola Jokić (14) Nikola Jokić (9) Ball Arena 0 6–7 14 January 19 Oklahoma City W 119–101 Nikola Jokić (27) Jokić & Millsap (12) Barton & Jokić (6) Ball Arena 0 7–7 15 January 22 @ Phoenix W 130–126 (OT) Nikola Jokić (31) Nikola Jokić (10) Jamal Murray (9) PHX Arena 0 8–7 16 January 23 @ Phoenix W 120–112 (2OT) Nikola Jokić (29) Nikola Jokić (22) Nikola Jokić (6) PHX Arena 0 9–7 17 January 25 @ Dallas W 117–113 Michael Porter Jr. (30) Nikola Jokić (10) Monté Morris (6) American Airlines Center 0 10–7 18 January 27 @ Miami W 109–82 Nikola Jokić (21) Nikola Jokić (11) Gary Harris (7) American Airlines Arena 0 11–7 19 January 29 @ San Antonio L 109–119 Nikola Jokić (35) Nikola Jokić (10) Jamal Murray (7) AT&T Center 0 11–8 20 January 31 Utah W 128–117 Nikola Jokić (47) Nikola Jokić (11) Will Barton (6) Ball Arena 0 12–8
February: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record — February 1 Detroit Postponed (makeup date TBA)[2] 20 February 4 @ L.A. Lakers L 93–114 Jamal Murray (20) Jokić & Millsap (10) Nikola Jokić (6) Staples Center 0 12–9 21 February 6 @ Sacramento Golden 1 Center 22 February 8 Milwaukee Ball Arena 23 February 10 Cleveland Ball Arena 24 February 12 Oklahoma City Ball Arena 25 February 14 L.A. Lakers Ball Arena 26 February 16 @ Boston TD Garden 27 February 17 @ Washington Capital One Arena 28 February 19 @ Charlotte Spectrum Center 29 February 21 @ Atlanta State Farm Arena 30 February 23 Portland Ball Arena 31 February 25 Washington Ball Arena 32 February 27 @ Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena
March: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 33 March 1 @ Chicago United Center 34 March 2 @ Milwaukee Fiserv Forum 35 March 4 @ Indiana Bankers Life Fieldhouse
2020–21 season schedule

Transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Zeke Nnaji R. J. Hampton Via free agency Greg Whittington Isaiah Hartenstein Markus Howard Facundo Campazzo JaMychal Green

Players Lost Via free agency Jerami Grant Torrey Craig Noah Vonleh Mason Plumlee Troy Daniels Tyler Cook Waived Keita Bates-Diop

Trades

November 22, 2020[3]	To Denver Nuggets Cash considerations	To Detroit Pistons Jerami Grant (Sign and trade) Rights to Nikola Radičević (2015 #57)
November 24, 2020[4]	Four-team trade
	To Denver Nuggets Rights to R. J. Hampton (#24) (from Milwaukee)	To Milwaukee Bucks Jrue Holiday (from New Orleans) Draft rights to Sam Merrill (#60) (from New Orleans)
	To New Orleans Pelicans Steven Adams (from Oklahoma City) Eric Bledsoe (from Milwaukee) 2024 MIL first-round pick swap 2025 MIL first-round pick 2026 MIL first-round pick swap 2027 MIL first-round pick	To Oklahoma City Thunder George Hill (from Milwaukee) Zylan Cheatham (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) Josh Gray (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) Darius Miller (from New Orleans) Kenrich Williams (from New Orleans) (Sign and trade) 2023 DEN protected first-round pick 2023 WAS second-round pick (from New Orleans) 2024 NO second-round pick

Re-signed

Player	Signed
Bol Bol[5]	November 24, 2020 (Converted from two-way contract)
Paul Millsap[6]	December 3, 2020
Monté Morris[7]	December 9, 2020

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
Greg Whittington[8]	November 24, 2020; Two-way contract	Galatasaray
Isaiah Hartenstein[9]	November 30, 2020	Houston Rockets
Markus Howard[10]	November 30, 2020; Two-way contract	Marquette
Facundo Campazzo[11]	November 30, 2020	Real Madrid
JaMychal Green[12]	November 30, 2020	Los Angeles Clippers

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason	New team
November 22, 2020	Jerami Grant[3]	Free Agency (sign and trade)	Detroit Pistons
November 22, 2020	Keita Bates-Diop[13]	Waived	San Antonio Spurs
November 26, 2020	Torrey Craig[14]	Free Agency	Milwaukee Bucks
November 27, 2020	Noah Vonleh[15]	Free Agency	Chicago Bulls
December 1, 2020	Mason Plumlee[16]	Free Agency	Detroit Pistons
December 3, 2020	Troy Daniels	Free Agency	TBD
December 3, 2020	Tyler Cook[17]	Free Agency	Minnesota Timberwolves

References

1. Singer, Mike (October 22, 2020). "After 21 years, Pepsi Center to be renamed Ball Arena as part of new partnership". The Denver Post. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
2. "Pistons-Nuggets game postponed for Health and Safety Protocols". NBA.com. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
3. "Pistons land Jerami Grant in sign-and-trade with Nuggets". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
4. "Pelicans acquire Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe in four-team trade, Jrue Holiday sent to Milwaukee". NBA.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
5. "Denver Nuggets convert two-way contract of Bol Bol to NBA contract". NBA.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
6. "Denver Nuggets re-sign forward Paul Millsap". NBA.com. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
7. "Denver Nuggets sign Monte Morris to contract extension". NBA.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
8. "Denver Nuggets sign Greg Whittington to two-way contract". NBA.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
9. "Nuggets sign center/forward Isaiah Hartenstein". NBA.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
10. "Nuggets sign guard Markus Howard to two-way contract". NBA.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
11. "Denver Nuggets sign Facundo Campazzo to a multiyear contract". NBA.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
12. "Denver Nuggets sign forward JaMychal Green". NBA.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
13. "NBA Player Transactions". NBA.com. February 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
14. "Bucks Sign Torrey Craig, Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis". NBA.com. November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
15. @chicagobulls (27 November 2020). "We have signed forward Noah Vonleh" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Detroit Pistons Sign Free Agents Mason Plumlee, Jahlil Okafor, Josh Jackson and Deividas Sirvydis". NBA.com. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
17. "Capsules of Wolves players on training camp deals". FOXSports.com. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.