DENVER — When it was over — when the Denver Nuggets had finally bested the Miami Heat, the doubters, and their own obvious nerves — Ball Arena erupted.
They turned the ball over 15 times, including four to start the game itself, setting a tone of fear, worry and pressure.
Yet somehow, throughout all of that, the Nuggets found a way to prevail.
Nothing levels narratives and sets the truth in stone like a championship.
Let’s start with Nikola Jokic.
His 52.9 combined average of points, rebounds and assists per game in the playoffs is the second-most in league history, after Wilt Chamberlain’s 1967 playoff run.
His 10 points in the fourth quarter, as the Heat turned that late seven-point deficit into a nail-biter, carried his team and cemented the reality for those who still might not have known exactly who Jokic is.
“Yeah, I don’t really think you can put it into context,” Michael Porter Jr.
He had 14-8-8 stat line in Game 5, after becoming the first player in league history to notch at least 10 assists in each of his first four NBA Finals contests.
Murray has been, like the Nuggets themselves, widely overlooked.
“Everything was hitting at once,” Murray said.
Michael Porter Jr., who after a rough series put up a key 16 points and 13 rebounds Monday night, is just 24.
The Western Conference will be a slog again next year, full of land mines and deep, potentially dangerous teams. But we know from NBA history that winning championships often serves as a catalyst for more.
Turns out you can, in fact, let coaches have ample time to build a culture, to learn along with their players, to grow slowly over time.
“They are very calm, cool, collected,” Malone said about the Nuggets’ owners and approach a few hours before he and his team won them an NBA championship.
Winning cures all things.
Having withstood that, many things at once are now true: Jokic is an all-time great in his prime and a possible heir to LeBron, KD and Steph.
You can now buy Nuggets championship shirts, hats, jerseys, hoodies, and much more to celebrate the historic win.