For the first time ever, the Denver Nuggets will be headed to the NBA Finals, and they will have an excellent shot at winning the world championship.
They got there after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on Monday, winning Game 4, 113-111.
Once the final horn sounded at Crypto.com Arena, it was celebration time for both Nuggets players and their fans back home, and a picture on the team’s official Twitter account showed their mascot still on cloud nine on Tuesday.
Rumor has it he’s been like this since last night… pic.twitter.com/tfHTmt3TKz
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 23, 2023
The Nuggets got their start in the old American Basketball Association (ABA), a rival league to the older, more established NBA that attracted fans thanks to its looser style of play, attitude, and rules.
They had some nice teams there, and they even reached the ABA Finals in 1976, the last year of business for the league, where they lost to Julius Erving’s New York Nets.
But ever since entering the NBA for the 1976-77 season, the Nuggets have usually been either bad or merely mediocre.
In 2009, the now-retired Carmelo Anthony was able to lead them to the Western Conference Finals, but even after putting up a strong fight, they fell in six games to the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers.
This current iteration is looking to clearly be the best team Denver has ever had, as it consists of two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, a primetime performer in guard Jamal Murray, and a very nice supporting cast.
They will likely face the Miami Heat for the NBA title, and while the Heat have tons of fight, they likely won’t have enough to prevent the Nuggets from taking it all.
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