Denver Nuggets 2025 Home Opener at Ball Arena: The Crowd Reaction

There's something about the first home game of the season that hits differently than any other night in Denver sports. The city's been waiting, the roster has questions around it, and everyone filing into Ball Arena is carrying a little extra energy. I wanted to see it for myself — specifically, I was curious which starter was going to get the biggest reaction when the introductions rolled around. If you've been to a Nuggets opener before, you know that moment lands somewhere between a rock concert and a church revival depending on who's walking out.

The five names on the floor for the 2025 home opener were Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic. That's a solid starting five to run out in front of a Denver crowd, and each of those guys carries a different kind of weight with the fanbase.

Reading the Room

Jamal Murray gets loud every single time. The guy hit one of the most iconic shots in NBA playoff history in a Nuggets uniform, and Denver has not forgotten it. When his name comes over the PA, there's a reflex reaction in that building — people just go. Christian Braun is interesting because he's a Colorado kid, played at CU, and the crowd has genuinely adopted him as one of their own. He's not a legacy player yet but the affection is real and you can feel it in the room.

Cam Johnson is newer to this equation. He came over and the Nuggets fanbase is still calibrating — actually, scratch that word — still figuring out where he fits in terms of attachment. He got a solid reaction, but it felt a little more polite than passionate, which is pretty normal for a player in his first stretch with the team. Aaron Gordon is well-liked and respected, especially after the championship run. His intro got a genuine pop.

And then there's Jokic.

The Jokic Effect

I'm not going to oversell it, but the reaction when Nikola Jokic's name gets called at Ball Arena is just different. Three-time MVP, the best player in franchise history, arguably one of the best players in the world right now — the crowd knows exactly what it has. It's not just loud, it's sustained. People who don't usually get out of their seats are standing. The energy in that building shifts in a way that's hard to explain if you haven't been there for it.

That's the short answer to the question I went in with. If you're ranking the starter introductions by crowd reaction on opening night 2025, Jokic is at the top. It's not a slight to the other guys — Murray's intro was genuinely electric, Braun's was warm in a way that felt specific to Denver — but Jokic operates on a different frequency with this fanbase.

Worth Going?

Ball Arena downtown is easy to get to, and an opening night game has an atmosphere that a random February Tuesday just doesn't replicate. The crowd was engaged from the jump, which isn't always guaranteed even in a building that generally shows up for the Nuggets. If you're on the fence about going to a game this season, the opener reminded me why the early games matter — everyone's still optimistic, the stakes feel fresh, and the energy in the building reflects that.

The Nuggets have a legitimate contender on the floor again, and Denver knows it. That comes through in how the crowd treats every introduction, every big play, every moment that feels like it could matter come April. I've been to a lot of games at that arena over the years and opening night still earns its own category.

If you can get to a game early enough to be in your seat for introductions, do it. The Jokic reaction alone is worth being there for in person at least once.