David Adelman wants to excite his Denver Nuggets players and see them in better shape following his promotion to full-time head coach.

The 2023 NBA champions lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs but took the Western Conference champions to Game 7, despite having an injury-ridden roster.

Adelman was interim coach of the Nuggets during the postseason after Michael Malone, the most successful coach in franchise history, was fired with three regular-season games to go.

To help three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Adelman said he plans to motivate the players with new ideas but insisted their fitness levels will also be key.

"New ideas are good ideas," Adelman said. "I have to give them something to come back to that excites them.

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"Teams that get off to great starts usually at the end of the year have the best chance of being healthy in these big games.

"But, yeah, that will be the expectation to come back in much better shape."

Adelman said he is ready for the full-time role after working with coaching mentors such as Sam Mitchell, Frank Vogel, Flip Saunders and his father, Rick.

"[I feel] very prepared," Adelman added.

"When you're around those people and you see how they run their business and their process, it's kind of a cheat code."