The Denver Nuggets are the NBA 2023 champions as they defeated the Miami Heat on June 12 in game five of the series. It is their first-ever NBA title, and they won deservingly so, they finished first in the western conference and the playoffs, and they won very comfortably against their opponents. Miami was red-hot coming into the finals defeating the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. Denver humbled the Heats winning 4-1. The Heat’s dream to become the first eight-seeded team to win the title was crushed. Denver was dominant throughout the whole season.
Regular season and playoffs
Their regular season ended with a record of 53-29 and finished first in the western conference. Their record was second best in the whole league behind Milwaukee Bucks, so it meant if it were to be Bucks versus the Nuggets in the finals, the Bucks would have the home advantage, but the Bucks were eliminated by the Heat. The Denver Nuggets faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of playoffs and, The Timberwolves only won one game, as the Nuggets won 4-1.
Their dominant display continued throughout the tournament as next up they defeated Phoenix Suns which had Kevin Durant. Phoenix was one of the favorites to win the whole thing coming into the playoffs, but their run was very underwhelming. The Nuggets won 4-2 and moved on to the conf. finals. There they were up against the Lakers, who were in very good form. Lebron, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis were winning their games single-handedly. But the Nuggets showed them to win the championship, you need to have a team, not just individuals. The Nuggets swept them 4-0 and had almost two weeks without any games and on the other side of the conference, the Heat were battling against the Celtics for a place in the finals.
Finals
When the finals came it was expected that the Heat would at least give the Nuggets a tough fight. That was not the case at all as Nikola Jokic and Co. dominated throughout the series. The Nuggets also had the home advantage, but they were just the better basketball team. The Heat only won one game and that was game 2. They scored thirty-six points in the last quarter and the Nuggets only scored twenty-five. The game ended 108-111 in favor of the Heat. These miracles do not happen in every game and the Nuggets won the next three games. Free Sports Picks websites had the Nuggets winning in 8 games and they were only off by one game in their prediction.
Nikola Jokic’s legacy
Nikola Jokic was the Finals MVP and it was the final nail in the coffin for him to cement his legacy in the NBA after achieving so much. Bill Russel would be proud as a center who won the trophy that was named after him. Nikola Jokic also broke a couple of post-season records. He now has a Finals MVP and an NBA ring to go with his two regular-season back-to-back MVPs. Online sportsbooks websites currently have the Denver Nuggets as favorites to repeat as champions. The Milwaukee Bucks are second behind the Nuggets.
The way Denver Nuggets played throughout the season was very eye-pleasing for the viewers and they finally have the title. This year’s Nuggets are one of the most dominant teams in recent years.
