The Denver Nuggets never found themselves leading the narrative of genuine championship contenders, despite finishing first in the Western Conference with a record of 53-29. Even in the West, they were seldom considered the team to beat. Talking heads preferred the upstart Grizzlies, star-driven Suns, defending champion Warriors, or even the Lebron James-led Lakers.
The Nuggets came into the playoffs with just the sixth-best odds to win the championship. The lack of respect didn’t bother the Nuggets, as they knocked off the Timberwolves in five games, the Suns in six, and the Lakers in a four-game sweep. Now after an electric five games on the biggest stage, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat and won the franchise’s first championship.
The major component in their success is two-time MVP, Nikola Joki?. The Serbian has come a long way from when he was drafted 41st overall in 2014 during a Taco Bell commercial. Joki? averaged a triple-double through the first three rounds of the playoffs, and was only 0.2 assists per game away from achieving the same feat through the regular season. Despite this, he finished as the runner-up for this year’s MVP to Philadelphia 76ers centre, Joel Embiid. Some say Joki? was robbed, and that he was only denied the award because of a perceived fatigue of his skills; that his consistent style of play and quiet off-court demeanour isn’t as marketable as the flashiness and drama of Embiid. This is a charge Joki? has tried his best to downplay, stating “people are just mean in saying [Embiid] shouldn’t have won it.” Joki? certainly never let the buzz distract his on-court performance, leading his team through both his play and attitude.
Canadian guard Jamal Murray is the other star on the Nuggets roster, providing them with an elite combination of scoring and playmaking. His ability to space the floor and score from three-point range is the perfect compliment to Joki? and gives defences an impossible dyad to prioritize.
Murray averaged 32.5 points per game in their conference finals sweep of the Lakers while still maintaining an efficient 5.3 assists per game, just under his regular season average. The rest of the Nuggets roster is platooned by players who play their role seamlessly within head coach Mike Malone’s system. From three-point sniper Michael Porter Jr., to former dunk contest icon Aaron Gordon, to reliable all-around minute munchers in Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — the Nuggets all play consistent, dependable basketball, and their well-oiled machine rolls over their opponents.
Their style of play isn’t as flashy and their off-court storylines aren’t as drama filled as their rivals’, but everything they’ve done has led to them cruising into the finals with relative ease. The Nuggets capitalized on their quietly dominant season with the franchise’s first Larry O’Brien trophy, and their championship parade on Thursday, that may or may not have the finals’ MVP, Joki?, in attendance if his horses back in Serbia let him stay away from home a little bit longer.
