KJ Simpson
#25PG · Denver Nuggets
Height
6'2"
Weight
189 lbs
Age
23
College
Colorado
Experience
1 yrs
Wingspan
6'4.5"
Reach
7'9.5"
Hand Size
8.25" × 9.25"
C
D+
D
—
Fan Verdict
Grade this player:
Career StatsD
| Year | Team | GP | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career |  | 53 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 34.4% | 26.6% | 76.5% |
| 2025-26 | | 17 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
Recent Games
| Date | OPP | Result | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3PT | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 4/11 | vs OKC | W 127-107 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | +6 |
| Thu, 4/9 | vs MEM | W 136-119 | 3 | 0 |
Performance Analysis
D
#76 of 93 Point Guards
FCA+
KJ Simpson earns a D Performance grade, indicating below-average production relative to other NBA point guards this season. Through 53 games, KJ is contributing 5.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in his role. KJ's best relative area is FG% at 34.4, though it still falls below the point guard median of 46.0. The biggest area for growth is PPG at 5.2 (point guard median: 15.0). Among 93 NBA point guards graded this season, KJ ranks 76th. At 23, KJ is still developing. The production should improve as he gains experience and a larger role with the Denver Nuggets.
Current Sentiment
D+
Negative
NegativeNeutralPositive
The public narrative around KJ Simpson sits in a genuinely awkward place — warm enough on the surface, thin enough underneath to earn a D+ sentiment grade that accurately reflects the gap between local goodwill and national indifference. The dominant media thread is a homecoming story, with coverage leaning hard into his Colorado roots and framing his two-way contract with the Nuggets as a feel-good chapter in the state's growing NBA pipeline — a narrative that plays well in the Denver market but carries limited weight beyond it. The problem is that the on-court reality, a D performance grade, does little to elevate that storyline into something more substantive: through 17 games of the 2025-26 season, Simpson is averaging 5.2 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 rebounds, the kind of modest counting-stat line that keeps a developmental guard firmly in the "promising prospect" category rather than forcing a broader conversation about his NBA viability. Denver's recent roster maneuvering — signing veteran point guard Tyus Jones and cutting Tamar Bates — signals a front office sharpening its playoff roster with experienced depth, which implicitly compresses whatever fringe opportunity Simpson might have been competing for heading into the postseason. With the Nuggets sitting as the three-seed in the West on a 12-game win streak and the playoffs approaching fast, the organizational urgency around proven contributors only further marginalizes the narrative space available for a second-year player on a two-way deal. The bottom line is that Simpson's sentiment sits where his production does — below average and steady in that direction, buoyed just enough by local affection to avoid the floor, but nowhere near the breakout story his homecoming framing was trying to write.
Transaction History
Denver Nuggets sign G KJ Simpson
Denver Nuggets · signing · 2/19/2026
Charlotte Hornets release G KJ Simpson
Charlotte Hornets · cut · 2/6/2026
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