The Denver Nuggets emerged as the 2023 NBA Champions after an extremely fun season with a lot of parity around the NBA. Ultimately, the Nuggets were too much for any opponent in the playoffs as they won the title with only four losses in the postseason.
The White House has sent its congratulations to the Nuggets, with President Joe Biden sharing a tweet about the same.
“Congratulations to MVP Nikola Jokić, Coach Malone, and the entire Nuggets organization for bringing home their first-ever NBA title in the Mile High City of champions.”
The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves, Suns, and Lakers before dispatching the Heat in the Finals in a straightforward run to the championship. The season as a whole was anything but straightforward, with severe doubts being placed upon Jokic and the squad by media members that hilariously thought Jokic was a stat padder.
This playoff run has proven that Jokic is as far removed from stat padding as possible, given how his playoff average of 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists was much higher than his regular season averages of 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists.
Nikola Jokic Establishes Himself As One Of The Greats
With a championship and Finals MVP under his belt, Jokic’s all-time status in the league cannot be questioned. He may not be a top-five all-time center just yet, but he’s definitely in the top 10 and ahead of stars like Dwight Howard now. We haven’t seen a dominant big man like Jokic since Shaquille O’Neal, as Jokic ended a 21-year drought of no centers winning the Finals MVP.
He has a lot more still to accomplish. He has had his Dirk Nowitzki-esque championship run, something we saw Giannis Antetokounmpo do in 2021. The question is, can Jokic achieve more and surpass both to be remembered as the greatest European player in league history? Time will only tell.