Nuggets climb to No. 12 in ESPN power rankings as Trevon Brazile earns newcomer nod

The Denver Nuggets moved up three spots to No. 12 in ESPN's latest NBA power rankings. The 1-30 poll also named one newcomer per team, and Denver's pick was rookie forward Trevon Brazile. The bump from 15th follows a 3-1 run that included wins over Toronto and Indiana. It still leaves the 5-4 Nuggets behind Portland at No. 11 and well back of the top tier, where San Antonio sits first.

The ranking itself matters less than ESPN's explanation of it. Anthony Slater's blurb says Denver still can't find lineups that hold up when Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray sits. Through nine games, the Nuggets are minus-15 in Jokic's minutes on the bench and minus-29 in Murray's. Since Peyton Watson left over the summer, the search for depth has led to two 2026 second-round picks, Brazile and Bryce Hopkins. Both have given the bench useful minutes.

Brazile was the 35th pick out of Arkansas. He is 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, and ESPN says he has shown early value as a rebounder and a defensive disruptor in some of Denver's wins. He is playing about 20 minutes a night, and ESPN expects that number could grow. NBA.com lists him at 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. His role has been smaller lately, though: he played 14 minutes in each of the last two games, scoring 5 points at Houston and 3 against Indiana.

What it means at Memphis

The rankings put Wednesday's opponent right behind Denver. Memphis is 13th, down seven spots from sixth, even though its 7-3 record is better than the Nuggets'. The Grizzlies are without Isaiah Stewart, who has a right knee bone bruise, ESPN reports. That has pushed No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer from power forward to center. Coach Tuomas Iisalo told ESPN, "We are featuring him in a lot of different sets." That puts a 6-foot-10 rookie with long arms like Brazile in a natural spot to guard Boozer when Jokic is resting.

Denver comes in after a 110-100 loss at Houston that ended a two-game winning streak. The Nuggets are 2-2 on the road this season, with wins at New Orleans and Phoenix and losses at Oklahoma City and Houston. Their scoring has swung widely, from 84 points in the opener at Oklahoma City to 141 against New Orleans. The 229.5-point total on the board reflects that range.

Denver is favored. Novig, one of 12 venues on this site's board, has the Nuggets at -153 on the moneyline and Memphis at +150. That gap of only three cents shows how little margin is built into the price. The sportsbooks' hold on the moneyline runs from 2.6% to 4.6%. On the spread, Novig has Denver -3.5 at -104 and Memphis +3.5 at +102. The best Memphis number anywhere is +4.5 at -115 from Hard Rock Bet, a full point more than Novig's line at a higher price. On the total, Novig has 229.5 with the over at -106 and the under at +102. FanDuel's 228.5 at -115 is the lowest over number on the board, and Pinnacle's 230 at -109 is the best under. Across the venues, the total moves by only a point and a half and the spread by a single point. That suggests the market largely agrees on a close game in which Denver is the slightly stronger side.

The Nuggets go on to New Orleans on Saturday and host Phoenix on Monday. More on the season is on our Nuggets team page.