Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets won their first championship in franchise history. After a 53-29 record in the regular season, they clinched the No.1 seed in the Western Conference and were just dominant during the playoffs.
The Nuggets rolled over the Minnesota Timberwolves and then eliminated two star caliber rosters against the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers. None of those series even went to a Game 7.
see also
Jimmy Butler makes another "guarantee" for Game 5 of the NBA Finals
Now, in the 2023 NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets found a recipe to stop Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. Nikola Jokic talked about that impressive run by the team after hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at home.
Nikola Jokic’s incredible message after winning the NBA championship
Though everyone expected Nikola Jokic to celebrate in a big way such an accomplishment like a NBA Championship, the MVP of the series surprised the media at the press conference in Game 5 when asked if he was ready for a parade on Thursday. “When is parade? When is parade? No. I need to go home.”
A few days ago, Nikola Jokic had already warned that the key in the NBA Finals was to avoid a direct star matchup between him and Jimmy Butler. The Serbian player admitted that a full team’s contribution is the biggest reason why they dominated in the series.
“Before the Finals, I said the goal is the Nuggets to beat the Heat. Not Jamal (Murray) or me or anybody beat their main players. That’s why. Christian (Braun) won us Game 3, Aaron Gordon and Bruce (Brown) won us Game 4.”
see also
The Heartwarming Reason Nikola Jokic Ties His Wedding Ring to His Shoes
Now, after the Denver Nuggets clinched the title at home, Jokic praised, once again, all of his teammates. “It’s good. The job is done. We can go home now. We always tried to help each other. It was a team effort. Everyone worked really hard for this. As I said, we always believed in each other. We believe in every player that we have.“
