Nuggets likely to make significant decision on David Adelman’s future after 2nd round exit: Report 

The Denver Nuggets were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs on Sunday after losing Game 7 to the Oklahoma City Thunder lopsidedly. However, the loss did not diminish the team's accomplishments, even after firing their former head coach Mike Malone late in the season and the various injuries that hampered their roster in the postseason.

During those challenges, interim coach David Adelman handled the Nuggets with great resolve, steering them to a first-round win against the LA Clippers - which also went to seven games - before pushing the top-seeded Thunder to their limits in the second.

Per ESPN's Tim McMahon, Adelman is seen as a strong candidate for Denver's head coaching position based on his performance as the interim tactician. The team promoted him to the job after he had been a longtime assistant coach.

McMahon reported that Adelman made his case for the position during the playoffs, helping the Nuggets reach the second round, despite roster challenges.

David Adelman has been an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets since 2017, building strong relationships with the players since being drafted by the team. Before joining Denver, he was also a player development coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves (2011 to 2016) and the Orlando Magic (2016-17).

In the 2024-25 regular season, Adelman coached the team in three games, winning all to finish as the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

He was Malone’s former lead assistant coach in the Nuggets’s 2023 NBA title run, which gave the team its first NBA championship.

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David Adelman gets praised from Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic

In his quest to be the team’s permanent coach, David Adelman has the backing of the Denver Nuggets’s franchise player Nikola Jokic.

Talking after the Nuggets’ Game 7 loss, Jokic expressed how Adelman changed the team's energy and impacted their survival to the second round of the playoffs.

"You had three games to change something…I think he changed energy. I think the guys were woken up a little. Guys had more energy. He made us believe something, and we played good. We played a seven-game series against the best team in the NBA. We had opportunity, we had chances. I think he did a really good job," Jokic, a three-time MVP, said.

The Denver Nuggets's head coaching vacancy is expected to be decided in the offseason, which is also crucial for the team’s championship hopes in the foreseeable future.