The NBA season is still a few months away but the Denver Nuggets schedule has arrived!

The Nuggets will open their season on October 26th against the Pelicans in New Orleans. Their home opener will be three days later on October 29th against the Portland Trailblazers.

Last season the first two months of the season were absolutely brutal for the Nuggets and it wasn’t until January that the team caught a break with extended home stretches against below average teams. This year will be similar as the Nuggets play six of their first seven games on the road against playoff caliber teams.

Let’s look at a few exciting games on the schedule.

Opening Night

The Nuggets open against the Pelicans in what should be an interesting matchup. Both the Nuggets and Pelicans are hoping to make the playoffs in 2017 and will be fighting for playoff positioning so the first game of the year will also be an important one.

Home Opener

The second game of the year will be the home opener as the Nuggets will break in Pepsi Center against the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers are also aiming for the playoffs and are likely to be anywhere in the 5-10 range in the west. The Nuggets played the Blazers early in the season last year and it was one of the most exciting games of the year as Emmanuel Mudiay had not one but two game saving blocks on Damian Lillard.

Nuggets vs. Lakers

Emmanuel Mudiay and D’Angelo Russell have one of the best young rivalries in the NBA. D’angelo was picked ahead of Mudiay, a fact that Mudiay has taken note of and even commented on in the past. Elite prospects start to separate themselves in year two so it will be very interesting to keep an eye on the two young point guards as they begin their sophomore campaigns. The Nuggets play the Lakers three times next season. First in Los Angeles on January 17th, then again a few days later in Los Angeles on January 31st. They’ll play at Pepsi Center on March 13th.

Nuggets vs. Knicks

There are a lot of storylines for the Nuggets vs. Knicks matchup. First, there’s the return of Carmelo Anthony, one of the best players in Denver Nuggets history. Secondly, there is year two of the Nikola Jokic vs. Kristaps Porzingis debate. Zinger finished 2nd in rookie of the year voting, one spot ahead of Jokic despite Jokic outperforming Kristaps in almost EVERY advanced statistical category and despite Jokic absolutely DEMOLISHING Kristaps in their matchup at Pepsi Center. Look for this game to be hyped.

The Nuggets will be hosting the Knicks on December 17th and at Madison Square Garden on February 10th.

Nuggets in London

As has been reported earlier, the Nuggets will play the Pacers in London on January 12th. The game will be a “home game” for the Nuggets which means the team will only play 40 games at Pepsi Center this season. The game is sandwhiched between four days off before the 12th and 3 days off afterward so the Nuggets should be well rested.

Check out the full schedule and let us know which game(s) you have circled on your calendar.