It took the Denver Nuggets 47 years to get to this point, but it’s better late than never! On Monday, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to capture the team’s first NBA title.
The Nuggets won the series 4-1, and now they celebrate in Denver. Nikola Jokic was named Finals MVP.
There are many ways to get to an NBA title; some build through free agency, others build through the draft, and for the Nuggets, their path to a championship was through the draft.
Denver’s top three players came through the draft. Jokic was a second-round pick in 2014; Jamal Murray was the seventh overall pick in 2016, and Michael Porter Jr. was the 14th overall pick in 2018.
Unfortunately, injuries hurt this time. Murray(knee) and Porter Jr.(back) missed significant time, which hurt this team’s title chances, but the organization stayed patient, and good things happen to those who wait.
“I came here when I was 20,” Jokic, who led the NBA in points, rebounds, and assists in the playoffs, said. “Jamal came here when he was 21? (19). Yes, the core, but if you want to be a success, you need a couple years. You need to be bad, then you need to be good, then when you’re good, you need to fail, and then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out. I think experience is something that is not what happened to you. It’s what you’re going to do with what happened to you.
“Yes, Jamal was injured. Yes, we lose the first round or second round in the Playoffs… But there is a process that you need to — there is steps that you need to fill, and there is no shortcuts. It’s a journey, and I’m glad that I’m part of the journey.”
Murray, who missed the better part of two seasons with a torn ACL, was emotional after winning his first NBA title.
“Everything was hitting. Everything was hitting at once, from the journey to the celebration with the guys to enjoying the moment, to looking back on the rehab, to looking back at myself as a kid, as the other viewer, looking from the crowd in or from the camera lens in, and now looking back at them,” Murray said. “It was a lot. I couldn’t hold it in. It was just something I’ve been working for my whole life.
“I think Mike said it, Porter. Every real hooper wants to be on this stage and play in the game and be in this moment. To see it full circle, going from my rehab, not being able to walk, go up the stairs, not just for a month or two. It was for a long time. A lot of different things going through my head. A lot of tears. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears, and real ones.”
From start to finish, the Nuggets were the best basketball team. After years of injuries and disappointment, Denver finally breaks through. None of that happens without patience.
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