The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions for the first time in franchise history. Founded in 1967, the Denver Nuggets have 29 playoff appearances in their 57 years of existence. It took 56 years for them to capture their first NBA championship and there’s no guarantee that they’ll win another one. With the current players and coaches they have, there is a very high chance of them winning another NBA championship in the near future. The only problem for the Nuggets is that other teams are getting younger and better. It’s very difficult to win one championship let alone multiple in a short amount of time but the Nuggets have the tools to do it. The Denver Nuggets will be the next NBA dynasty for years to come.
One of the main reasons why the Denver Nuggets will become the next NBA dynasty is because of the players. Since winning the NBA championship in 2023, the Nuggets starting five has remained intact for the 2024 season. The Denver Nuggets will have a chance to win the title every season with the reigning two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokić. Nikola Jokić is viewed by many as the best NBA player in the world right now. D’Angelo Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers starting point guard said, “Yea, they got the best player in basketball”. Twelve-time NBA All Star Hakeem Olajuwon said that Nikola Jokić is the only big man that reminds him of the days when he played. During the 2022-2023 season, Nikola Jokić averaged twenty-five points, twelve rebounds, and nine assists per game. He nearly averaged a triple double in every game, which has only ever been done by two other players, Russell Westbrook, who did it four separate times, and Oscar Robertson, who did it once. Oscar Robertson is retired and is already a member of the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, which is the greatest honor a player can receive for their individual performances on the court. Russell Westbrook is still in the NBA, he’s a former league MVP and when it’s all said and done, Westbrook will definitely join Robertson in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Nuggets might have the best player in the NBA, but basketball is a team sport and every player needs to contribute. Luckily for the Nuggets, their starting lineup is very balanced and one of the best in the league. Jamal Murray, the Nuggets starting point guard, complements Nikola Jokić incredibly well. Jamal Murray averaged twenty-six points, seven assists, and six rebounds per game during the Nuggets twenty-game finals run. With two players playing at this high of a level, the Denver Nuggets are an extremely hard team to beat. The Nuggets shooting guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, is a great defender but more importantly he’s a great catch and shoot player. During the 2022-23 season, Pope’s three-point percentage was forty two percent. He averaged eleven points and almost two steals per game. With Jokić’s playmaking ability and Pope’s three-point shooting ability, Caldwell-Pope fits perfectly on this team. The same can be said about the Nuggets starting small forward Michael Porter Jr, who arguably has a better shot than Caldwell-Pope. Michael Porter Jr’s three-point percentage during the 2022-23 season was forty-one percent. He averaged seventeen points per game. The Nuggets starting power forward Aaron Gordon is another great defender. Gordon averaged sixteen points, three assists, and seven rebounds per game. He averaged almost one block and one steal per game. He also makes great cuts to the basket which opens up Caldwell-Pope and Porter Jr. Also, every Nuggets starter is on the younger side. Nikola Jokić is twenty-eight years old, Jamal Murray is twenty-six years old, Michael Porter Jr is twenty-five years old, and Aaron Gordon is twenty-eight years old. At thirty years old, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the Nuggets oldest starter and with comes great experience. Pope was also one of the key players on the Los Angeles Lakers 2019-20 championship team. He helped the Lakers defeat the Nuggets in the 2020 Western Conference Finals. He played the same role for the Lakers as he does now for the Nuggets. He is a great three-point shooter and defender. Overall, the biggest reason why the Denver Nuggets will become an NBA dynasty is because of the players that compete every single day.
The front office and the coaching staff of the Denver Nuggets are also a major factor in their success. Starting with the man who built up this team, Calvin Booth. He’s been the Nuggets general manager since July 2020 and signed a multi-year extension in Oct 2022. Booth made a very bold choice in March of 2021, trading away long time Nugget Gary Harris and draft picks for Aaron Gordon. Booth also made a trade in the summer of 2022, trading away two other long time Nuggets, Will Barton and Monte Morris, for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Looking back, the Nuggets definitely won both trades and without Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets would not have won the championship this past year. Calvin Booth did not do it all on his own, head coach Michael Malone has played a huge role in the Denver Nuggets’ success. Malone became the Nuggets coach on June 15, 2015. In Malone’s first three years, the Nuggets missed the playoffs, but they had a bright future with young stars such as Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić. In Malone’s fourth year as head coach, the Denver Nuggets were the second seed in the West and went to the second round before losing to the Portland Trail Blazers. The next year the Nuggets went all the way to the Conference Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, who ended up winning the Finals that year. Over the next two years, the Nuggets were dealing with injuries. At the end of the 2021 season and right before the playoffs, Jamal Murray tore his ACL and missed the rest of the 2021 season and the entire 2022 season. Then at the start of the 2022 season Miachel Porter Jr tore a muscle in his back which required surgery which ended his 2022 season. The Nuggets’ first time being completely healthy in two years theysecured the one seed in the West and won the NBA championship. In regard to Coach Malone, longtime NBA veteran DeAndre Jordan said, “We can see the fight and tenacity he has. He wants to win just as much as we do.” The day after he tore his ACL in 2021, Jamal Murray told Michael Malone that he was damaged goods. Malone told Murray, “You’re ours, not only are you gonna come back, you’re gonna be even better.” And he was right. Luckily for the Denver Nuggets, Michael Malone signed a new contract in March 2022, taking him through the 2026-27 NBA season. Malone’s team has complete trust in him, and they believe that he can lead this team to another championship win.