“At long last, after 47 years, the Denver Nuggets can call themselves NBA Champions.” Those words were uttered by Mike Breen as the buzzer sounded, and scenes of jubilation gripped Ball Arena. Game 5 was not a typical game for 2023, but it was a throwback to the tough and grit era of the 1980 and 1990s. The final score of 94-89 is indicative that both teams struggled to score the basketball, missed free throws, and committed boneheaded turnovers. Yet, with under 5 minutes left, the Nuggets clung to a 5-point lead. Jimmy Butler struggled with 8 points for the game and yet rose to the occasion by knocking back-to-back threes to keep the deficit to only 4 points. Then, on his third straight three-point attempt Aaron Gordon was whistled for a questionable foul, with Butler kicking his foot out to exaggerate any possible contact. Mike Malone challenged the call, and to the shock of every non-Heat fan or player, the referee decided the call would stand. The Nuggets did not waiver with Jokic and locked up the Heat on the defensive end. Interestingly, after shooting 9 of 19 from the free throw line, the game was decided by the tandem of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, who went 4 of 4 in the clutch while forcing a big steal and a put-back rebound. In the end, the better team won the series, and in this article, we discuss the takeaways for both teams and the legacy of Nikola Jokic.
1. The Nuggets-Denver proved they were the best team in the Western Conference and the best team in the NBA. After blowing through a young Timberwolves team in the first round, Denver traded home-court blows with the Phoenix Suns until the Nuggets knocked them out with a dominant performance against Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the road. In the Western Conference Finals, despite being the number one seed, the Nuggets swept Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers to advance to the Finals. An argument could be made that the Nuggets should have swept the Finals because they let Game 2 slip in the fourth quarter. After winning their first Larry O’Brien trophy, Mike Malone proclaimed his dissatisfaction with just one title, but he wants more. The Nuggets can contend for more championships because their four core players in Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter are a combined average age of 26. Christian Braun is a rookie, and getting veteran role players will get easier after winning a championship. More than just their age, their core players fit together, and the chemistry is hard to replicate. In the finals, they demonstrated they can win by playing efficiently offensively or grinding out wins defensively. Moreover, the Nuggets showed patience with Mike Malone by winning a championship in his 8th season, and he proved that he is one of the best in the league in coaching, motivating, and leading the troops. Yes, it might be the start of a dynasty.
2. The Heat- this defeat will sting Erik Spoelstra and his Heat players, but after the adrenaline subsides, they can be proud of what this squad accomplished. Miami went through one of the most unprecedented runs in sports history and came up short. After a disappointing regular season, the Heat could have packed it in after losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the first play-in game. Miami went on to nab the final spot and upset the Milwaukee Bucks in five games to shock the basketball world. Despite losing Tyler Herro to a broken hand, the Heat defeated the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics to become the Eastern Conference Champions. If any team lost their second-best player to a serious injury, they might not win another game, let alone three series. In the end, Miami could not match the talent of the Nuggets, but it was not due to a lack of effort. The big question facing the team is whether the culture in place will attract a top-tier superstar to join Butler and Bam Adebayo in South Beach to carry them to the top. The player to watch as free agency looms is Damion Lillard in Portland, who must be desperate to win a championship, and South Beach may be the best option to get it done.
3. Jokic Legacy Cemented-the biggest takeaway from this series is the validation of Nikola Jokic as the best player in basketball. Jokic has made a unique journey to the top, from a chubby kid in the cold stables in Serbia to the cold Rocky Mountains as a 2nd round draft pick. Jokic was famously drafted during a Taco Bell Commercial break when his name popped up on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. Jokic and Jamal Murray started on the bench in obscurity, but they have now developed into one of the most indefensible pick-and-roll offenses in the league. Jokic performance was complete this postseason because he became the first player to lead the field in points, rebounds, and assists. Jokic has his critics who questioned whether he stat pad his performances but, in this playoff, run, he proved his team needed every stat because it resulted in winning a championship. After winning back-to-back MVPs and now a Finals MVP, Jokic has now catapulted himself into the conversation with the best centers in NBA history including Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, and Hakeem Olajuwon. There is an argument that he might be number 6 on this list, and with more championships and accolades possible at just 28 years, could he climb into the top 5? After a near triple-double run, in the words of Kevin Garnett, “Anything is possible.”