How Nuggets clinched 2023 NBA title (2024)

Entering the night, only 12 NBA franchises were without an NBA championship. That list is down to 11. With a 94-89 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets have won the 2023 NBA championship. The eighth-seeded Miami Heat fought hard until the end but didn't have enough to stop Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets.

Jokić finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds in the clincher, allowing the Nuggets to overcome a ferocious defensive effort from the Heat to win the 16th game of this playoff run. He won the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award unanimously. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 21 points but shot just 5-of-18 from the field in the defeat.

The Athletic has you covered with everything you need to know.

Required reading

• How the Denver Nuggets finally reached the NBA’s mountaintop by not chasing the stars
• Nikola Jokić, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon? How Nuggets star compares to all-time great big men
• Inside the Nuggets championship celebration: ‘An immaculate moment’
• 2024 NBA title odds: Nuggets open as favorites to repeat, followed by Celtics, Bucks

Find the best ticket deals on StubHub to see your favorite team.

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

DENVER — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope soared in to grab the rebound from Kyle Lowry’s last gasp 3-point attempt Monday night and immediately dribbled to an open space. When he realized Miami had opted not to intentionally foul, he raced to the opposite end of the court, a safe space where the final eight seconds of Game 5 could evaporate. Bruce Brown covered his face with both hands in disbelief. Aaron Gordon clenched both fists as he flexed.

And Nikola Jokić, he calmly, dispassionately, walked over to shake the hand of Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. As the packed crowd of Ball Arena absorbed the awe of Denver’s first-ever NBA championship, Jokić made his way down the Heat’s bench, shaking the hands of his defeated foes.

No initial demonstrative show of emotion. No emotive moment to punctuate him finally reaching the top of the NBA’s mountain. While Jamal Murray covered his pouring eyes with his jersey, overcome with emotion, Jokić was flagging down Haywood Highsmith to make sure the Heat wingman got a handshake, too.

Mostly, though, he seemed like a man not wholly impressed with what he just pulled off. The last two superstars who led their teams to a title, Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo, spent the final seconds of their clinching victory in tears. Jokić seemed more relieved that he finally gets to “go home now.”

He eventually celebrated. He was hoisted in the air by his brother. He carried his daughter on stage. He was doused with champagne and did some dousing. He downed a beer or two. He tackled Murray into a pool. He was the guest of honor at a Serbian dance party in the locker room that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. local time Tuesday. Jokić enjoyed the moment. But when he learned about the parade on Thursday, he sounded more like an employee being forced to attend a company picnic.

“I’m going to ask the coach to give me a couple weeks more off so I can be ready for the season,” Jokić said as he stared down, fidgeting with his right ear. He suddenly looked up as he was met with silence.

“That’s supposed to be a joke, and you didn’t laugh,” the big man said with a smile, finally prompting chuckles from the crowd. “Good job, guys.”

Read more here.

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

Elite offensive teams can often win pretty games. They pass the ball, synchronize moves like a swim team and rip the ball through the nylon with ease. Then, after getting smacked in the mouth, such teams are forced to grind out wins with tough defense before wilting away in the face of toughness.

This once applied to the Nuggets. They would play beautiful basketball but couldn’t get dirty enough to tough out the biggest games. That is no longer the case after their dominant playoff run, which was capped by a 94-89 Game 5 title clincher and the franchise’s best defensive stretch since Dikembe Mutombo patrolled the paint. The Nuggets’ dominant defense to seal their first NBA title was some of the grimiest basketball we’ve ever seen them play and why they closed out the Heat in five games.

Denver promised to make doubters into believers across the NBA — through all the injuries and playoff failures. Through all of the waiting.

Patience with sports franchises should be a virtue, but it’s a bit more of a myth. Billionaires want instant gratification for their sports investments, and rarely do organizations have the foresight to just breathe and see. The interesting part about the Nuggets and Heat? Both organizations abide by patient approaches.

It didn’t fully pay off for the Heat in this case, but the Nuggets finally found their first NBA title because of it – drafting a second-round gem in Nikola Jokić doesn’t hurt! Jamal Murray grew into a lead guard by perfectly adapting his game around his All-NBA running mate. Denver also trusted a small group of role players who sometimes struggled but battled smaller opponents.

Ultimately, the Nuggets got in the mud against a team that thrives most in such spots. They clamped down Miami’s points and scored plenty of their own. As the West’s top seed, Denver rose above any opponent and barely got challenged during this title run – a 16-4 romp to the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Read more here.

DENVER – Jimmy Butler’s only turnover on Monday night will end up being one he’ll never forget.

With less than 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, all eyes were on Butler as he attacked the basket with hopes of keeping Miami’s season alive. He came to a jump stop in the lane, but as the clock ticked away, he realized he ran out of options.

He looked right. He looked left. There was no one open.

He attempted to squeeze a pass into Max Strus on the wing, but Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope swiped it and went the other way.

After knocking down a few free throws in the final seconds, Denver walked away with a rugged 94-89 victory in Game 5 to clinch its first world title in franchise history.

Now, it’s the Miami Heat who look like a team up against a ticking clock, running out of options.

For the Nuggets, Monday ended in a night of unbridled joy after reaching heights that had never been reached for their organization. For this iteration of the Heat, however, this territory was all too familiar. It was another successful season that featured another better-than-expected playoff run ultimately ending without the ultimate prize.

Read more here.

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DENVER — The exasperated groans were the foundation of a celebratory roar destined to be unleashed at the perfect time.

Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets forward who owns one of the prettiest jump shots in all of basketball, kept clanking in the NBA Finals. During the first four games of the series against the Miami Heat, the 24-year-old missed 19 of his 22 shot attempts from 3-point range. He then missed his first four attempts in Game 5. That made him 3 of 26 to that point, a career 42 percent long-range shooter connecting on less than 12 percent of his attempts during the franchise’s first championship series.

Clank, clank, clank.

The crowd let out a disbelieving groan with each magical-looking jumper that managed to avoid the net, as if fans felt the same pain that caused Porter to bury his face in his hands after one of those early misses Monday night.

“My jumper was broke all series,” Porter said.

Then, with the game tied in the final moments of the third quarter, Porter caught the ball on the left wing with ample space between him and his defender. Unbothered by all those rim-hammering misses, Porter let it fly again. When the ball hit the bottom of the net, the 19,000-plus fans at Ball Arena deliriously shouted with all the decibels they could muster, sharing in the young player’s relief that he had finally, at long last, buried a jump shot.

“That 3 that he hit, you could feel the whole arena,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Like, ‘Wow, there is not a lid on the rim. We can actually make shots tonight.'”

Read more here.

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DENVER — Basketball games are often decided by which team has the most dynamic players. Results come down to whose stars shine brightest and which ones rise above the rest.

Celebrations, on the other hand, are democratic. Everyone gets to party, and that’s exactly what the Nuggets did Monday night.

It didn’t matter if you were a superstar, like two-time league MVP Nikola Jokić, who danced in the locker room wearing only his underwear. It didn’t matter if you were equipment manager Sparky Gonzales, for whom the locker room erupted when he held the Larry O’Brien Trophy. They all were champions.

“I’m just proud of everybody,” said rookie Christian Braun, who won over Denver fans with his hustle plays and explosive bursts.

The celebration began with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope dribbling out the clock and chucking the ball into the air. Before long, the Ball Arena court was full of people and equipment. Workers quickly constructed a stage where the Nuggets could accept the prize they’d been working toward for years. Loved ones streamed onto the hardwood.

Michael Porter Jr. found his mother, Lisa, and grabbed her for a hug. He pulled off his game-worn jersey, too, handing it to his family members, who gathered near the basket where Jimmy Butler’s game-tying 3-point attempt missed with 17 seconds left.

Then Porter joined his teammates on the stage for the trophy presentation, where the Nuggets finally got to accept the championship trophy. Tears dripped from Jamal Murray’s face as he spoke on national TV. Ish Smith danced with joy, and coach Michael Malone escaped for a moment to hug his family.

Read more here.

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DENVER — Nearly six years before Nikola Jokić’s coronation and Jamal Murray’s redemption, before all that champagne flowed inside the Ball Arena where the Denver Nuggets’ streak of 46 championship-less NBA seasons came to a blissful end on Monday night with their Game 5 win over Miami to win the NBA Finals, they had a chance to trade for the kind of star player who likely never would have come their way in free agency: Kyrie Irving.

This was hardly the only time the mid-market franchise faced a fork in the road. Not even close.

From the time former top Nuggets executive Tim Connelly brought Jokić to town from Serbia in 2015 by way of the second round, and Murray from Kentucky a year later with the seventh pick, the phone would ring with tantalizing possibilities involving high-profile players. And in today’s NBA, where the Super Team model had long since become the preferred way of their world, the prospect of swapping Murray for the then-disgruntled Cleveland Cavaliers point guard in the summer of 2017 was certainly intriguing. Just as it had been all those other times when rumors would fly about stars who might come their way. Jrue Holiday. Paul George. The list goes on.

But they resisted that urge. They remained patient. They trusted in this dynamic duo of Jokić and Murray that would prove to be one of the most formidable in the history of playoff basketball when it mattered most. Yet as they had learned in recent years, from the two second-round postseason exits to the 2020 Western Conference finals, when they fell short against the Lakers in the NBA bubble, those two stars would never be enough unless they found a way to build a grittier, more versatile, more complementary roster around them.

This is the story of how the Nuggets handled the unwelcomed exit of their chief architect to Minnesota last summer, how his replacement, former NBA player Calvin Booth, shined in his place alongside longtime coach Michael Malone and how the three moves that were made in the past year made the difference.

Read more here.

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As the confetti is swept off the floor of Ball Arena and the smell of champagne lingers in the Nuggets’ locker room, it’s time to transition into a staple segment of every sports talk show: Where does this guy rank?

For Nikola Jokić, that’s a complicated question. In many ways, the NBA has never seen a player like him. In other ways, there are a handful of comparable resumes from some of the sport’s most iconic names.

In terms of the greatest players to ever be drafted in the middle of a Taco Bell commercial, Jokić’s career is unmatched. But let’s look at the raw numbers and timelines to compare the legendary careers and see where The Joker lines up after winning his first ring.

Here’s his resume for a quick reminder:

• 28 years old (eighth year in league)
• Two MVPs
• Five-time All-NBA
• Career averages: 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.7 blocks per game, 55.3 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from 3
• First player to lead all players in points, rebounds and assists for an entire postseason
• First player with 10 triple-doubles in a single postseason

Read more on how he compares to Shaq, Giannis and others at the time of their first titles.

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

Nobody partied harder than Jamal Murray in the champagne-drenched winning locker room Monday night in the minutes and hours after Denver’s title-clinching 94-89 victory in Game 5 against the Miami Heat. He carried the Larry O’Brien Trophy around for maybe 10 minutes, hugging it tight to his chest. He sprayed bottles like Old Faithful at every teammate and staff member who walked into his vicinity, taking swigs when he wasn’t on the prowl to soak someone else. His cheeks were sure to hurt Tuesday morning because his grin kept growing with each celebratory minute that passed.

But earlier, in the moments after the final buzzer sounded and the delirious crowd at Ball Arena roared above the confetti, Murray’s eyes welled with tears. He tried to take it all in, but the emotions came in one thunderous wave and he couldn’t stem the tide.

“I couldn’t even hold it in,” he said. “I don’t know. It was just a surreal moment. 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, looking from the crowd in or from the camera lens in, and now I’m looking back at them.”

Murray always saw himself here. He visualized this moment — manifested it, really — from the time he was a young boy growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, 90 minutes outside of Toronto. He would create fictitious playoff brackets while shooting on the blacktop, putting himself into imaginary games against point guards like Chauncey Billups, who grew up not far from where they partied in the streets Monday night. It was a dream his father, Roger, helped his son chase through uncommon preparation and development that prioritized mental toughness. If anyone was groomed to be an NBA champion, it was Murray.

“It was just something I’ve been working for my whole life,” he said.

Read more here.

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After Game 5's defeat Jimmy Butler was asked if his game was altered by the ankle injury he suffered in the second round against the New York Knicks.

"Zero. My ankle's fine," Butler said. "We just didn't win. There's no excuse. They beat us. That's all I got."

The numbers show a clear decline after Butler suffered the injury late in Game 1 of the Knicks series. Before then, Butler averaged 33.1 points per game on 54-percent shooting in eight postseason games (including Play-In) –numbers inflated by Butler's 56-point performance in Game 4 against the Bucks. But his numbers dipped to 23.7 points per game on 42-percent shooting in the 16 games thereafter.

(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

Several minutes after declaring to the Nuggets crowd that "we want more," Michael Malone reiterated that he and his team are not satisfied with just winning one title.

"The last step after a champion is to be a dynasty," Malone said, referencing the end of what he referred to as an old Pat Riley axiom. "So we're not satisfied."

The Denver Nuggets are the early favorites to win the 2024 NBA title at +500, per Bet MGM. Here’s what you need to know:

• Denver won the first title in franchise history Monday night, defeating the Miami Heat in five games. The Heat are listed at +2000 to win it all next season.
• The Nuggets were +1400 to win the 2023 title directly following the 2022 NBA Finals.
• Denver is followed by the Boston Celtics (+550) and Milwaukee Bucks (+600) in the 2024 title odds. The Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons are the biggest title longshots at +50000.

Read more here.

The last 16 months for the Kroenke Sports empire:

• Denver Nuggets win NBA title
• Colorado Avalanche win 2022 Stanley Cup
• LA Rams win the Super Bowl in Feb. 2022
• Arsenal finish 2nd in the EPL
• Colorado Mammoth win 2022 NLL title and runner ups in 2023

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić was named the 2023 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP on Monday after leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history. Here’s what you need to know:

• Jokić finished the Game 5 win over Miami with 28 points and 16 rebounds, both game highs, to go along with four assists and a block.
• The two-time MVP entered Game 5 averaging 30.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and eight assists per contest in the finals.
• In Game 3, he became the first player in NBA history to record a 30/20/10 game in the finals. He finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, leading Denver past Miami 109-94 to give the Nuggets a 2-1 series lead.
• The Joker also scored 41 points in Denver’s loss in Game 2.

Read more here.

The Nuggets finish the playoffs with a 16-4 record, one of the most dominant runs in postseason history. Their four losses are the fewest in a title run since the 2017 Golden State Warriors, who lost just once in racing to a championship in the first year of the Stephen Curry-Kevin Durant partnership. Before that, the last team to lose less than four times in a title run was the 2007 Spurs, who also went 16-4.

Their competition was weak, at least according to playoff seed, but it's still an impressive accomplishment to be that successful at the game's highest stage. Keep that in mind when this season is described as one in which parity reigned and a random team stepped to the forefront. The more nuanced truth is that these Nuggets dominated when it mattered most.

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

After the last defensive stand, as the final seconds ticked away, and it was clear the Nuggets were champions, Nikola Jokić matter of factly walked over to Erik Spoelstra and shook his hand. Then went down the line of Miami's bench shaking all their hands.

No initial demonstrative show of emotion. No emotive moment from finally winning. First, and before anything, was sportsmanship.

"I got news for everyone. We're not satisfied with one" the Nuggets coach pronounced to the Denver crowd after the Nuggets clinched the 2023 NBA championship. "We want more! We want more!"

It's not quite Pat Riley's guarantee after the Lakers won the title in 1987, but it's not too far off.