The Denver Nuggets are looking to clinch their first-ever NBA championship as they host the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday evening.
They have outclassed the resilient and scrappy Heat so far in this series, and it is hard to imagine the Heat fighting back to send it back to Miami for a Game 6.
However, Miami has been in this situation before, and they have answered the bell multiple times with their backs against the wall.
Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning had a message for the Nuggets before tipoff.
Peyton Manning is rooting for the Nuggets to get it done tonight 👏 #NBAFinals #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/bmICa9Nwz0
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2023
The Nuggets have struggled to be competitive for decades ever since entering the NBA in 1976, and it’s something Manning can relate to.
He entered the NFL in 1998 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts amidst lots of hype, and although the Colts surrounded him with a talented cast, they kept coming up short in the postseason.
Finally, they broke through at the end of the 2006 season as Manning finally got his first Super Bowl ring.
He joined the Denver Broncos for the 2012 season and quickly made them into a contender, but they were destroyed in the Super Bowl following the 2013 season by the Seattle Seahawks.
However, Manning got himself another world championship three years later in his final game, and it was Denver’s third Vince Lombardi Trophy following the two they won in the late 1990s with John Elway under center.
The Nuggets are looking to establish a winning tradition of their own, as they have a young team that should contend for years to come.
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