Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets:

What I’m Thinking

The Western Conference has been represented by five different teams since Golden State went to five straight Finals from 2015-2019, and Oklahoma City’s the favorite to make it six straight years without a repeat conference champion.

The Thunder went out and significantly improved their roster after finishing atop the West last season. None of the other top teams in the West can say the same.

After an impressive rookie season, Chet Holmgren has way more help on the inside this season. Oklahoma City signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year contract worth nearly $90 million this summer. That should help Holmgren unlock more parts of his game, as he won’t have to guard the likes of Nikola Jokic or other bigger-bodied centers moving forward.

Sam Presti’s front office also lightened Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s defensive load on the perimeter. Acquiring Alex Caruso, one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, for Josh Giddey, who wasn’t part of Oklahoma City’s future plans, was one of the most impressive moves of the offseason.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s cash-strapped competition for conference supremacy made more marginal moves. Oklahoma City’s young core got some much-needed playoff experience last season before ultimately falling to the Mavericks in the second round. Mark Daigneault’s squad is best positioned to make a run to the Finals, especially if Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace take a leap.

The Nuggets, Timberwolves and Mavericks make up a strong second tier. All three teams have the potential to make the Finals, but none have as big a margin of error as the Thunder.

NBA Insider

Calvin Booth and the Nuggets are banking on Jamal Murray’s best basketball still being in front of him.

Here’s what that might look like based on the seven years Murray has played in the NBA.

Scoring

For all the gripes about Murray’s 2023-24 season, he enjoyed the most efficient shooting season of his career to date.

Though he took fewer 3-pointers per game (5.8) than the previous few seasons, Murray shot a career-best 42.5% from deep last season. His previous best was a 40.8% mark on 6.6 attempts per game back in the 2020-21 season. The improved 3-ball helped Murray also set a new career high in field-goal percentage (48.1%) which was a few points higher than 2020-21.

The free throw line was seemingly the only place he didn’t set a new standard. He still shot 85.3% from the line, though his free throw attempts per game have failed to rise with the rest of his usage.

Murray made a name by being one of the NBA’s best shot makers regardless of difficulty or situation. That has to continue for him to make good on his new deal.

Distributing

It wasn’t just the shooting that surged last season.

The 27-year-old also enjoyed the best play-making season of his career. His 6.5 assists per game marked just the second time he averaged more than five per game, and his turnovers per game (2.1) were the fewest since he played 21.5 minutes per game as a rookie season.

If there’s one aspect of Murray’s game that’s grown the most since the championship run, it’s his ability to operate as a true point guard. That’s a far cry from his rookie season when he was more of a combo guard.

Defense

The creating — either for himself or for others — is what makes Murray special. The defense is just an added bonus.

After posting a career-best 1.3 steals in 2020-21, Murray averaged one per game the last two seasons. While that number has trailed off, the increased experience has allowed Murray to post .7 blocks per game last season. His previous best was .4 blocks back in 2018-19.

If he can mix his experience and make the most of his physical prime on the defensive end, Murray would become a complete player worthy of his first All-Star selection.

Availability

Those saying the Nuggets shouldn’t have offered Murray a max deal often point to his injury history.

He’s played in more than 60 games just once since the 2019-20 season. Prior to that, Murray didn’t have many issues. He played in 82 games as a rookie, missed just one game in his second season and played 75 games in year three.

A torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2021 cost Murray two postseasons and the full 2021-22 season. Since then, he’s battled a series of more minor injuries. The hope is it’s just bad luck instead of a lingering issue that impacts the rest of his career.

Ultimately, his availability looks like the best indicator whether the Nuggets end up satisfied in their investment in their No. 2.

What I’m Following

– Murray hooked up one fast-acting fan with quite a head start on their NBA 2K25 journey. Murray posted a code worth 1 million of the game’s virtual currency. Murray also posted a screenshot of the report detailing his new contract extension.

– Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Peyton Watson linked up in New York City last week and went on to enjoy the Big Apple’s offerings. Watson posted a photo from one of Francis Tiafoe’s US Open matches. Gordon mixed some work into the trip, training with Chris Brickley’s Black Ops Basketball. Porter attended a fashion show. Porter also promoted a new episode of his “Curious Mike” podcast on Monday.

– One Western Conference foe will start the season without a promising prospect. Grizzlies forward GG Jackson II had surgery last week to repair a broken bone in his right foot. He’ll be reevaluated in three months, meaning he’s likely to miss at least the first month of the season. Denver plays Memphis twice in that stretch.

– The Lakers also lost some frontcourt depth to start the season. The team announced Monday afternoon that Christian Wood had left knee surgery and will be re-evaluated in eight weeks.

What I’m Reading

Not to make the fine people of Denver jealous, but the Mavericks became the latest team to make their games free for fans in their home market and surrounding areas. Dallas came to a multi-year agreement with broadcasting company TEGNA to broadcast Mavericks games not selected for national broadcast. Mavericks games were previously shown on Bally Sports Southwest, a part of the Diamond Sports Group that has filed for bankruptcy.

In case you missed it, I offered my take on the Nuggets signing Jamal Murray to a four-year max contract extension here.

The List

The Blue Arrow got paid, but he’s still got a ways to go to become one of the highest-paid players in the NBA. Here are the NBA’s five highest salaries for the 2025-26 season, according to Hoops Hype.

1. Stephen Curry, $59.6 million

2. Nikola Jokic, $55.2 million

3. Joel Embiid, $55.2 million

4. Kevin Durant, $54.7 million

5. Bradley Beal, $53.7 million