The Denver Nuggets emerged from the NBA desert to win their first championship. The Nuggets earned the number one seed in the West and made quick work of the Minnesota Timberwolves. His dismantling of the Phoenix Suns cost head coach Monty Williams his job (until Williams upended the coaching market) and perhaps ended future Hall of Famer Chris Paul’s championship chances. In back-to-back playoff series, the Nuggets cut down the trees that are future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Eric Spoelstra and had only one loss to prove it.
But if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The Heat-Nuggets Finals were the fifth least-watched Finals since the mid-’80s. No one mentioned the Nuggets as a threat to win it all until they swept the Lakers in the conference finals. There’s already more excitement about the arrival of Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama rather than a Nuggets repeat. How do the Denver Nuggets overcome the collective shrug of the NBA audience and repeat as champions?
Denver Nuggets image problem
The face of the Nuggets franchise is two-time NBA MVP and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic. Jokic is a charismatic center from Serbia with style in his game, unlike most players his size. Yet as he spent the 82-game regular season racking up triple-doubles, the national television audience took notice. The Nuggets were on national television a disappointing 16 times during the 2022-23 season. Due to a regional network dispute, many locals can’t even watch their team play. This has been a problem since before the pandemic. Some NBA analysts admitted they had never seen Nikola Jokic play before this year’s playoffs.
Head coach Mike Malone had a golden opportunity to defend the Nuggets’ culture during the 2020 Bubble Lakers-Nuggets conference finals rematch, but failed. Malone sounded like he was focused on the Lakers, beloved by the media, as much as everyone else.
“The National Narrative [after Game 1] it was that the Lakers were good. … No one talked about Nikola only having a historic performance. … The narrative was not about the Nuggets.”
– Nuggets HC Michael Malone pic.twitter.com/zUSjByjZMf
— NBA Television (@NBATV) May 19, 2023
Nikola Jokic, immediately after reaching the pinnacle of his career, made multiple references to wanting to return to Serbia. Jokic balked when he found out the championship parade was scheduled four days after the NBA Finals victory. His seemingly flippant behavior towards the sport’s highest honor upset many people.
The Nuggets’ championship run included one seventh seed and two eighth seeds. Fans saw that as an easy (some say boring) route. The other elite teams in the league still want their chance.
Why worry about the Denver Nuggets
Star point guard Jamal Murray overcame a torn ACL and a lost season last year to play his best basketball in this year’s NBA playoffs. The seven-year veteran is a future All-Star in this league (yes, he’s never made the All-Star team).
Michael Porter Jr. is a young forward with his share of questioners and detractors over the course of his five-year career. Porter Jr. missed his entire rookie season and played only nine games last year due to injury. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best 3-point shooters in the special-league 6’10”.
Imagine if Murray and Porter Jr. have healthy seasons in the next few years. Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are also under contract. The momentum of this championship cannot be quantified because the Nuggets have a player that no one in the league can compete with. Nicholas Jokic.
Jokic showed that having a great man is essential to win again. The days of the Golden State Warriors winning with 6’6” Draymond Green as the primary paint guard are over. A passing Jokic is even deadlier than a scoring Jokic. This means he can take over a game in more ways than any center in NBA history. Everyone on the court is a scoring threat when Jokic has the ball in hand. Mainly because he takes your biggest defender away from the rest of the defense. Most teams trying to keep up with the Warriors dynasty posed as small forwards and power forwards as their backup centers. Positionless basketball can no longer exist if a center (or two) is mandatory on the court.
Denver Nuggets offseason goals
The front office of the forward-thinking Nuggets has already moved in to shore up the current capital project. In the NBA Draft a few weeks ago, the Nuggets drafted Julian Strawther from Gonzaga, Jalen Pickett from Penn State and Hunter Tyson from Clemson. Therein lies its depth in the cheap contracts.
The continued development of now sophomore and back-to-back champion Christian Braun is the top priority in the off-season.
Bruce Brown is a great player, but above all expendable. Many veteran players will now consider coming to Denver at a discount to play with Jokic and Murray. Brown will get a purse in this free agency. It is a win-win for both parties.
Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Porter Jr. are in their late twenties. This should be a terrifying proposition. Download them at your own risk.
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