Just two years ago Denver Nuggets fans were living the dream when their team won the NBA Championship for the first time their history and they look to repeat their success this upcoming season despite their unexpected exit in the Western conference semi-final to Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets Success
2022/2023 Season
The 2022-2023 was a fever dream for most Denver fans winning their first championship but it was always on the cards.
Going into the season there had been clear signs that there was a great team but they were always a step too short when it came to the off season, whether it would be not playing well or injuries hindering the team.
There were even doubters going into the off season despite finishing as the first seed in the Western Conference with people labelling the team as defensively weak.
During the regular season, Denver ranked 26th in the NBA in opponent points in the paint per 100 possessions, allowing 53 points per 100 (per NBA.com).
Coming into the playoffs, Opta Analyst NBA playoff projection model gave the Nuggets just the sixth-highest odds (6.8%) of winning the title. The model feared that their lacklustre defence (16th in adjusted defensive rating) might hinder their chances of reaching the promised land.
But they proved everyone wrong as they proceeded to go 16-4 throughout the whole playoffs and never trailed in a single series.
In the first round they faced a Timberwolves side who had a young Anthony Edwards and clear flaws as they ranked 23rd for rebounding and 13th for points per game, Nuggets made quick work of them defeating them in five.
In the second round they faced the Phoenix Suns who had just got Kevin Durant on their roster and were looking to be back in the finals where they were in the 202/2021 season, but Denver were too strong at home for them as they won all four of their games at the Ball Arena in a series that ended 4-2.
In the conference finals they faced the Los Angeles Lakers who a lot of people had to win the whole championship, but the Nuggets would sweep the Lakers 4-0.
Then in the NBA Finals they faced a 8th seed Miami Heat who had come off one of the most incredible runs to get to the NBA Finals in history, but it was a one sided series with the Denver Nuggets winning the NBA Championship 4-1.
2023/2024 Season
In their next season, coming off the back of the championship they decided not to shake up their roster and keep the core that got them success the previous year but unfortunately they lost one of their best role players Bruce Brown Jr in free agency.
With the same core in the team they ended up getting the second seed in the regular season and faced a familiar faces in the playoffs, as in the first round they faced the Lakers.
They would yet again easily dispatch of Lebron James and his team mates winning 4-1, with Jamal Murray scoring clutch shot after clutch shot.
In the second round they would face the Timberwolves for the second time in two years and this year it would be different as they go 2-0 down in the series.
This caused people to label the Timberwolves as the Nugget killers with their style having three really good big men against Nikola Jokic.
The series would still go to a game seven but the Nuggets would fall after playing so well in game seven, until the third quarter where it would all fall apart and the Timberwolves would come back from a massive Denver lead.
Offseason Moves
There would not be too many moves for the Nuggets in the off-season with the intention of keeping the same core, but yet again but they would lose some of their role players in their team.
One of the massive losses they had was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who was a massive recipe to their success in their Championship run and would be a tough loss for the team going into the new season.
They would also lose Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday who got minutes for them in the 2023/2024 playoffs but some fans thought they were not good enough for the team.
But one of the additions that the team made has got fans very excited is former MVP Russell Westbrook, who is a great piece for the Nuggets as he brings valuable experience and provides great effort whenever he plays.
That is about the only notable move that Denver have made other than drafting DarRon Holmes II.
Can the Nuggets repeat their success?
With the NBA season right round the corner and so much quality in both conferences can the Nuggets win their second franchise Championship.
Well they will always have a great chance with Nikola Jokic on their team a three time MVP and one time Finals MVP who has just come off the back of a MVP season where he averaged 26, 12 and 9.
With Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets have built the right team around him having players that complement him so well which leads me onto Jamal Murray who has such a strong connection to the Serbian with people calling them the best duo in the league and their pick and roll being the most unstoppable move in the league.
However one problem that the Nuggets could face is the inconsistency of Murray as in the 2023/2024 season he was excellent in the Lakers series but when it came to the Minnesota series he underperformed and was one of the main reasons that they lost.
Murray has only really shown his star quality in one year in the play offs with major injury problems in previous years and he looked to be carrying an injury in the play offs just gone,
But if Murray can be consistent like he was in their championship season, they have a massive chance at winning again.
With people like Aaron Gordon who took a step up last season and was trusted a lot more with the ball which he relished in as well as shooting the ball a lot better in the playoffs which was his biggest problem previously.
They also have Michael Porter Jr who is one the best shooter in the NBA averaging 40% from three for most of his career and with his ability to shoot in traffic it makes doubling Jokic a lot harder with his ability to play a skip pass.
Alongside the excellent roster that Denver have, they have one of the best coaches in the NBA in Michael Malone who has created so much success in Denver and has developed his team so well.
