The Denver Nuggets' first-round exit at the hands of a depleted Minnesota Timberwolves team has left fans wondering: Is the championship window already closing on Nikola Jokić's era?

Just three years after hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the Nuggets were expected to make another deep playoff run. Jokić was in the MVP conversation all season, Jamal Murray delivered his best campaign yet, and the team looked unstoppable when healthy during the regular season. Instead, they were bounced by a Timberwolves squad missing key pieces from the team that beat Denver two years ago—not by a powerhouse like San Antonio or Oklahoma City in a classic showdown.

As former Nuggets coach George Karl noted, "Championship windows open and close faster than ever in the NBA." He's right. We haven't seen a repeat champion in eight years, and teams like San Antonio went from drafting second to winning 62 games in a single season. But for Denver, the story is more nuanced.

The Nuggets' window didn't close too soon—it opened too late. When they traded for Aaron Gordon in March 2021, it looked like the start of something special. For three weeks, they were unstoppable. Then Murray tore his ACL, costing Denver two postseasons. The window didn't truly open until 2023, when they won it all. That means we've only had four seasons of playoff memories from this core, but it's actually a six-year-old group. In today's NBA, how many cores survive that long?

The Nuggets have already taken the steps that aging contenders usually take to stay relevant. They changed coaches last year. They traded Michael Porter Jr.—a move that seemed basketball-smart but was also clearly about ducking the luxury tax. Now they're running low on tradable draft picks, the young talent is drying up, and what's left isn't cheap anymore. These are the classic signs of a contender in decline.

The pieces are still there, but the clock is ticking louder than ever in Denver.