NBA royalty takes the court on Saturday night as the Denver Nuggets host the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers. The Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets rank third in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the MVP race over Nikola Jokic as the Oklahoma City Thunder outpace the Denver Nuggets in the west.

Denver is 36-19 overall, nine games behind the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder, just as the NBA All-Star break starts this weekend. Why it matters: Each win drives them closer to a higher seed in the NBA playoffs.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) passes the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) defend in the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday,

Aaron Gordon talks about the current state of the Denver Nuggets and what they have to do to catch up to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Copyright © 2025 Bleacher Report, Inc. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.

This NBA parlay features Denver ML, Jokic Over 40.5 P+R, OKC -7.5, and SGA Over 31.5 P+A. A data-driven breakdown of the best bets for Monday’s matchups.

Returning from the All-Star break, the Oklahoma City Thunder are 46-10 through seventeen weeks of action. The Thunder currently hold a 9.5-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets, for the top spot in the West.

Should the Denver Nuggets keep Russell Westbrook in their starting five alongside Nikola Jokic. A rival executive thinks so.

Last year, Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks sent the Thunder home in the second round of the playoffs, although the Mavericks used a well-rounded defensive approach to slow down the Thunder, which is something the Lakers might not have, especially after getting rid of Anthony Davis .

The Denver Nuggets (36-19) will lean on Nikola Jokic (third in NBA, 29.8 points per game) when they square off against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (first in league, 32.5) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (44-10) on Monday, March 10, 2025 at Paycom Center.

The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 34-21 on Saturday night after one of their more impressive wins of the season against the Denver Nuggets, 123-100. It was an