The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here. The 2023-24 NBA season is underway, with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets aiming to defend their crown. Last year, Michael Malone’s men enjoyed a fantastic campaign that saw them taste the ultimate glory in great fashion.
Apart from finishing atop the Western Conference standings with just seven home losses, the Nuggets won all their playoff series in six games or less. Notably, the Joker and company took down the star-studded Suns and Curry’s Warriors before sweeping LeBron’s Lakers. In the Finals, they were too much for the eight-seeded Heat.
However, that’s part of the past now. The Nuggets are entering a new season, which means the NBA crown will be up for grabs again. Denver has reasons to dream with back-to-back titles, but not many teams have been able to do so in the last few years.
How many defending NBA champions won consecutive titles?
Only 13 teams have won consecutive championships throughout NBA history. The last team to do so were the Golden State Warriors, who secured the title in 2017 and 2018. The Boston Celtics hold the record for most title defenses, with eight titles in a row between 1959 and 1966.
Stephen Curry celebrates the 2018 NBA championship
- 1949-1950: Minneapolis Lakers
- 1952-1954: Minneapolis Lakers
- 1959-1966: Boston Celtics
- 1968-1969: Boston Celtics
- 1987-1988: Los Angeles Lakers
- 1989-1990: Detroit Pistons
- 1991-1993: Chicago Bulls
- 1994-1995: Houston Rockets
- 1996-1998: Chicago Bulls
- 2000-2002: Los Angeles Lakers
- 2009-2010: Los Angeles Lakers
- 2012-2013: Miami Heat
- 2017-2018: Golden State Warriors
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Jokic breaks two NBA records that neither LeBron nor Jordan were able to reach
This century, only three franchises managed to win consecutive NBA championships. The Lakers did it in two different periods. First, they secured a three-peat between 2000 and 2002, before pulling off a repeat in 2009 and 2010. Phil Jackson was their coach in all five successes.
The Miami Heat joined this group with back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Both of them happened during their Big Three era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
The Warriors, meanwhile, were able to win two titles in a row in 2017 and 2018. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson formed one of the strongest teams of all time under Steve Kerr’s guidance.
Do the Nuggets have what it takes to repeat?
The last few years suggest that making a repeat has become an extremely challenging task for any defending champion. Following their consecutive championship in 2018, only the Warriors managed to at least make the NBA Finals:
- 2018 Warriors lose in 2019 NBA Finals
- 2019 Raptors lose in 2020 Conference Semis
- 2020 Lakers lose in 2021 first round
- 2021 Bucks lose in 2022 Conference Semis
- 2022 Warriors lose in 2023 Conference Semis
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets celebrate the 2023 NBA championship
However, the Nuggets seem to be in a better position than the aforementioned teams. Denver has kept together the core of Jokic (28), Jamal Murray (26), and Michael Porter Jr. (25), and all of them are still young.
Their starting lineup is also untouched, with Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ready to run things back. Perhaps their biggest loss in the offseason was Bruce Brown, who became a key contributor coming off the bench in the Nuggets’ championship run. But the core is practically the same.
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Besides, Michael Malone is still at the helm. Therefore, the Nuggets seem to have very good chances to challenge for a repeat. They will face fierce competition, though, so we’ll have to wait and see. In the event Denver defends its title, then we might be in front of a dynasty. But only time will tell us.
