NBA Finals | Nuggets v Heat | Game 5 Recap

Nuggets 94 vs Heat 89 | Ball Arena | Denver, CO | DEN wins series 4-1

Denver Nuggets End 47 Year Drought, Win First Championship

The Denver Nuggets have done the unthinkable! At least if you subscribe to the national narrative that picked Denver to lose in every round. Then claim the one seed having the easiest path to the playoffs isn't the entire point of having the one seed. After 47 long years, they have been crowned the NBA Champions for the first time in their franchise history. The historic win will forever be etched in the memories of fans and players alike. Nikola Jokic capped the most dominant postseason run by a player in NBA history.

There has never been a player that has this many triple-doubles, nobody has had the all-around- game of 500+ points, 250+ rebounds, and 100+ assists. No one has been so head and shoulders above the competition throughout an entire postseason since Michael Jordan was in his prime. All this from a chubby white guy with a 5-inch vertical and was drafted during a quesarito commercial.

Denver's journey towards victory was not an easy one despite what so many that had terrible Nuggets takes for years would have you believe. They faced strong opponents throughout the playoffs, including the Los Angeles Lakers everyone said would do what Miami did only to be swept by Denver in the Western Conference Championship. However, the Nuggets persevered through every game, and every round, demonstrating unparalleled grit and determination.

The Finals series against the Miami Heat was no different. The two teams battled it out in a grueling five-game series that kept fans at the edge of their seats. Even though Denver won two games by double-digits, it never felt easy with the fight this Miami team has shown that got them to the finals. Many will say Miami is the weakest Finals opponent Denver could have face. And even if that were true, it's not, they would still be the best the eastern conference had to offer. Nobody cares about your fee-fee's, Miami was the best team in the eastern conference because they beat all the teams put in front of them to get to the finals. That means all the other teams were worse and if they made the finals you probably see only four games instead of five.

The star of the Finals was undoubtedly Denver's MVP, Nikola Jokic. The talented big man put on a show for fans, consistently putting up impressive numbers throughout the series. His leadership on the court and clutch performances in crucial moments played a critical role in securing the win for Denver. After a tough first half that saw Jokic get into foul trouble early and sit most of it scoring only 9 points with Miami taking an eight-point lead into half time. He came out firing in the second half leading to "just" another double-double scoring a game high 28 points, and 16 rebounds. The other half of the Denver duo Jamal Murray had another ho-hum game with 14 points to go along with 8 rebounds. and assists. But after a couple of miserable games for Michael Porter Jr. in games two and three, he has bounced back with back-to-back double- doubles as he had 16 points and 13 rebounds to go along with stellar defense as 11 of those rebounds were on the defensive end. Bruce Brown was clutch off the bench with great defense and 10 points.

The Heat set a scorching pace after Denver took a 10 point lead in the first and won quarters 1-3. But just like the moral victories that ended the Lakers season, it wasn't enough for Miami to force a trip back to Florida. Bam Adebayo had a game high 18 points at halftime, he scored two hole points in the second half to end his night with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler started ice cold ending the half with just two shots made and 6 points. He then did his usual fourth-quarter blitz and ended with 21 points (13 in the final five minutes) but only 3 rebounds and 5 assists. With neither Miami star able to get hot at the same time as the other, way to much was left on the shoulders of the Heat role players. Unlike the Nuggets role players stepping up when needed, Miami's wilted under the bright lights.

When you take out Butler and Bam's 41 points the rest of the Miami starters combined for just barely half that total with 21 points from Kevin Love, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent combined. These role players were why Miami made it to the Finals, it's also why they lost. After historic shooting numbers from the likes of Vincent, Strus, and Caleb Martin through their eastern conference trip to the finals. They all but disappeared on the grandest stage in basketball.

Strus made 10 shots in five games. Vincent had 19 and 23 in games one and two respectively then no more than seven points were in his box score after that. Martin never scored more than 11 points and averaged a paltry 7.4 points per game. To simply attribute this to Miami suddenly becoming bad for no reason is lazy. Denver showed up and played defense forcing terrible shots and flew around in a way that had Miami hesitant even on open looks.

The thing about this Nuggets run that isn't talked about enough is their core is extremely young and extremely tight. Jokic is the longest in the tooth at just 28 years old. All of the Nuggets starters are locked up for at least two more seasons and their only notable free agent this offseason is Bruce Brown. There is absolutely no way anyone not being a troll can say this team has no chance of running it back. Barring injury, the proverbial sky is the limit for this Nuggets roster.

Their stars are locked up on max and super-max contracts with one of the richest owners in sports that now has a championship in every major professional sport North America has to offer. Stan Kroenke and family now have a championship in the NFL (L.A. Rams), NBA (Denver Nuggets), NHL (Colorado Avalanche), MLS (Colorado Rapids), and MLL (Colorado Outlaws). All but L.A. is a testament to building a team through the draft and allowing those players to develop, then building around that core with key trades and signings allowing them to grow together. Michael Malone and Calvin Booth have cemented their legacy in Denver, neither should pay for another drink in Denver as long as they live.

The biggest reason both literal and figuratively this Nuggets team is capable of running it back is their humble superstar Nikola Jokic. In his post game presser he was asked about how he felt after the winning the championship and getting to enjoy a parade, his response was simply to ask when the parade was and when he was told Thursday he sighed heavily and stated "No! I need to go home!" Even after winning the greatest prize in the NBA his only want to is go home to Serbia and his horses with his family. He concluded that answer by stating "It's an amazing feeling (winning the championship). But it's not the most important thing in the world still. There is bunch of things that I like to do, that is normal thing." This man cannot get any better or more infuriating for the trolls that enjoy hero ball too much. This is a team in a team sport that genuinely loves each other. Chemistry is a real thing, it can make or break a great team, this one has their priorities straight.

The historic win of the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals will be remembered for years to come. It is a remarkable achievement that the team, its fans, and the city of Denver can be proud of. Congratulations to the 2023 NBA Champions!