With 20 games left in the Denver Nuggets’ season, the team has put itself in a solid position to make a run at winning a second Western Conference Championship in franchise history. Team awards aren’t the only possibility for the Nuggets this year, as Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun are both in the conversation for some of the league’s top individual awards. How are the award races shaping out down the home stretch of the season?
Nikola Jokic – Most Valuable Player (+500)
For the fifth consecutive season, the Serbian superstar is at the top of the NBA MVP talks in pursuit of winning the award for the fourth time. While Jokic will be the first person to say he doesn’t care about winning it, a fourth MVP trophy would put him in even rarer air than he is currently in. The only players with four or more MVPs are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5), Bill Russell (5), Wilt Chamberlain (4) and LeBron James (4).
Jokic is currently averaging 28.9 points (career-high),  12.7 rebounds (2nd-most in career) and 10.4 assists (career-high) per game and has the Nuggets in position to possibly earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Despite the great numbers, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-600 odds to win) is also having a phenomenal season, leading the league in scoring while leading his Thunder to a 11-game lead in the Western Conference for the No. 1 seed.
It will be a challenge for Jokic to make up the ground, but he has a prime opportunity with two head-to-head showdowns with Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder on Sunday and Monday, both being broadcast on national television.
Christian Braun – Most Improved Player (+1900)
Braun has had a phenomenal season for Denver, and arguably has been the second-best player on the team in multiple games this season. He has more than doubled his points per game this season (7.3 in 2024 to 15.1 in 2025), increased his steals, blocks and rebounds from last year, and has been one of the Nuggets’ few bright spots on the defensive end of the floor.
The third-year guard from Kansas is currently behind Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (-600) and Miami’s Tyler Herro (+800) for the award. Whether or not a former No. 1 overall pick should be able to win the award is a conversation for a different time, but both those players have also taken massive leaps from a season ago.
Denver Nuggets – Western Conference Champions (+550)
This award is obviously the most important one for the Nuggets and the rest of Nuggets Nation. Despite getting throttled by the Los Angeles Lakers on national TV a week ago, the oddsmakers still have Denver as the second-highest favorite behind Oklahoma City (-145). The Nuggets are 1-1 against the Thunder this season, with the final two matchups coming this weekend.
Denver has some work to do with rotations, injuries and consistency to put themselves in a position to make it back to the NBA Finals, but the team also has the best player in the world in Jokic. If the Nuggets can get everyone firing on all cylinders down the stretch (something that hasn’t happened this season), they have a great chance of beating Oklahoma City in a seven-game series.
The new-look Lakers and Golden State Warriors are two teams with lots of firepower and experience that will give the Nuggets troubles in the postseason. For now, the focus is going one game at a time as the team strives to find its rhythm heading into April.
While none of these odds are exactly great for Denver, it shows that the Nuggets have a dog in the fight in all three races. The team’s next game is Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings at Ball Arena as Jokic and Braun continue their respective pushes for these awards.
All odds are according to FanDuel Sportsbook
