Which Nuggets Starter Got the Loudest Crowd Reaction on Opening Night? 🏀

I've been to a lot of Nuggets games over the years, but a home opener with a ring ceremony attached to it is a different animal. Ball Arena was already loud when I got there, and it only got louder as the night went on. The question going in — which starter was going to get the biggest crowd reaction — seemed obvious before the introductions started. It was not.

Most people assumed Nikola Jokic would bring the house down. And he did, eventually. Vic Lombardi was doing the introductions for the ring ceremony, and when Jokic's name came up — last, as it should be — the crowd completely drowned him out. You couldn't hear a word. But here's the thing: by that point in the night, the crowd had already been surprised by someone else.

The Aaron Gordon Moment Nobody Saw Coming

Aaron Gordon dropped 50 points in the season opener and didn't even want the game ball afterward, which tells you something about the guy. But what stood out at Ball Arena wasn't the stat line — it was the moment late in the third quarter when he finally missed a three-pointer. His ninth attempt. The crowd's reaction to that miss was genuinely one of the stranger, more joyful things I've witnessed at an NBA game. He'd looked untouchable up to that point, and somehow the miss made people cheer louder than some of the makes had. He kept going after it anyway.

That was the second-most striking crowd reaction of the night. The first? Still Jokic. But Gordon's moment was closer than I expected it to be.

Jamal Murray and the Blue Arrow

Jamal Murray did the Blue Arrow when he walked out to receive his ring. If you've been following this team for a few years, you know what that means and why it landed the way it did. The crowd was already warm for Murray, and that gesture pushed it into something louder. It was a good read of the room.

Christian Braun and Cam Johnson got solid reactions — both guys have earned their place with this fanbase — but the gap between them and the top three was noticeable. The crowd knows who the core is.

The Game Itself

This wasn't just a ceremony night where the actual basketball felt secondary. The Nuggets played the Lakers, and there was real tension in that building. By the time Jokic hit his third three-pointer a couple of hours into the game, the atmosphere in Ball Arena felt close to what it was during the Western Conference Finals. Jokic's reaction to that shot, for what it's worth, was basically nothing. Business as usual for him.

The Nuggets won. The crowd got what it came for.

What Ball Arena Is Like on a Night Like This

If you haven't been to a high-stakes Nuggets game recently, it's worth going. The building gets loud in a way that doesn't always show up on a broadcast. Getting there early for a ring ceremony or a big opening game is worth it — the energy before tip-off is a real part of the experience, not just filler. Parking downtown is the usual downtown situation, so give yourself extra time or just use the light rail. The 16th Street Mall stops aren't far.

For a game this significant, the crowd was dialed in from the start. No sleepwalking through the first quarter, no checking phones until the fourth. People were paying attention.

Jokic got the loudest reaction of the night — that part wasn't a surprise. But Gordon's 50-point performance and the crowd's strange, delighted response to his one miss made this opening night memorable in a way that goes beyond the ring ceremony. If you can get to a Nuggets game this season, this is a good year to do it.