There's no better current rivalry in the NBA than the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets. The two squads have met in three out of the last four playoffs, including last season. And with the NBA schedule being released today, we now know that the Timberwolves will play the Nuggets four times, with the first two matchups on December 28 and then three days later on New Year's Eve to finish off 2026.
After closing out the series in six games without Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, and Donte DiVincenzo in Game 6, the Wolves clearly have the upper hand in this rivalry. With the Wolves playing Denver twice before the new year, they can send their rivals a familiar reminder that they are the better team.
In a more general sense, every time these two teams face off, we get treated to a classic game. Their recent playoff series added stakes to the rivalry, particularly since Jaden McDaniels called out the entire Nuggets roster as bad defenders. Between this and Nikola Jokic getting into a scuffle with McDaniels at the end of Game 4 (among other things), these teams clearly don't like each other.
Without a doubt, this is a game players and fans will have these games circled in red on their calendars.
The Timberwolves can prove that they still have the upper hand over the Nuggets
The Timberwolves aggressively upgraded their roster this offseason by adding LaMelo Ball, who fills their biggest need: point guard play. Denver, on the other hand, has mostly stood pat, with Marvin Bagley III being their big addition.
It's long been clear that not having a natural matchup for Ant-Man has been a disadvantage for the Nuggets, and that didn't change this offseason. Ball's arrival should give the Timberwolves another advantage over the Nuggets. The Wolves' pace and general athleticism create problems for the Nuggets, and more of the same should be expected this season.
Now, the Timberwolves did sacrifice their frontcourt size outside of Rudy Gobert. Part of the Wolves' success against Nikola Jokic was their plethora of frontcourt options.
However, we can't forget that Gobert was the primary one-on-one defender against Jokic in the playoffs. Gobert held Jokic to 32-for-76 shooting from the field in the playoffs; this accounted for 62.8 percent of Jokic's field goal attempts.
As such, I feel confident that the Timberwolves will still have an answer for Jokic. McDaniels can also lock up Jamal Murray. This defensive duo, paired with the Timberwolves' athleticism, gave them a massive advantage last time, and that should remain the same. Aaron Gordon could give the Timberwolves problems, but they have enough advantages to the point where this isn't a major concern for me.
Overall, closing out the calendar year against Denver feels poetic, and this should allow Minnesota to remind the Nuggets who the better team is once again.
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