HOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 21: Peyton Watson #8 of the Denver Nuggets shoots a layup against Amen Thompson #1 of the Houston Rockets in the game at Toyota Center on November 21, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
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The Denver Nuggets are without both Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon these days, and will be for the foreseeable future, which means someone else on the team is in need of stepping up, in order to replace some of the missing production.
That someone may be Peyton Watson, who has come on strong recently.
Incoming breakout
Watson, who’s usually been a defensive specialist, is averaging a robust 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds over his past four games, which has been a necessary addition as to lower the burden of Nikola Jokić, who is averaging 29.6 points, and 11.1 assists (with 12.8 rebounds) in just 34.8 minutes.
If Denver is to have legitimate championship upside, it’s crucial they don’t run their superstar Serbian into the ground, and Watson has seemingly stepped up.
The 23-year-old is by far the most efficient he’s ever been, sporting a TS% of over 60 for the first time in his career, which includes canning over 40% of his three-point attempts, and converting on nearly 70% from within three feet.
This was a long time coming as Watson, who is in his fourth season, has primarily been a defensive-oriented wing, who has taken only modest offensive steps.
Well, at least until now.
Whether his new-found production is sustainable remains to be seen, it’s a solid start for someone who will be a restricted free agent next summer.
Filling in for Cam Johnson, in a way
Watson is also utilizing the fact that Cam Johnson (9.9 points) is having a slow start for Denver, since coming over from Brooklyn during the summer.
The veteran is playing better of late, but his production level hasn’t generally been what was expected, which has seemingly offered Watson the opportunity to use some of that offensive bandwidth.
It’ll be interesting to see if Watson can keep up an increased scoring responsibility, especially when Johnson fully regains his form, and both Braun and Gordon returns.
The Nuggets have needed one of their youngsters to pop, and if Watson is in the process of doing so, that should make Denver extremely potent in the playoffs.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mortenjensen/2025/11/26/peyton-watson-is-breaking-out-for-the-denver-nuggets/
