Denver Nuggets win first NBA championship; Jokic is Finals MVP

For the first time in their history, the Denver Nuggets have won the NBA championship and captured the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Nuggets dispatched the Miami Heat 94-89 on Monday night at Ball Arena, cruising to a 4-1 series win. Denver finished the playoffs at a ridiculously good 16-4, the same record the Avalanche posted a year ago to earn the Stanley Cup.

Shortly after the game, ESPN’s Lisa Salters and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented the Nuggets with the Larry O’Brien Trophy, while also awarding superstar Nikola Jokic the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP. Here’s how those ceremonies looked at center court, in front of a raucous sold out crowd.

Jokic adds even more hardware to his trophy case, after taking NBA MVP in 2020-2021 and 2021-22. He finished second this season, robbed of the honors that went to 76ers center Joel Embiid. Jokic was also named MVP of the Western Conference Finals.

The @nuggets receive The Larry O'Brien Trophy as the 2022-23 NBA Champions! pic.twitter.com/1JmArALpSM

— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023

Head coach Michael Malone captures an elusive title, validating his status as the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NBA. In a league that does not stay loyal to coaches very often, ownership was rewarded by sticking with Malone for an eighth season after hiring him in 2015.

And for guys like Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Christian Braun, they will get their first rings. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earned his second.

This is a historic night for the city of Denver, the fans and the organization. The Nuggets hope it’s the start of a dynasty, but for now will spend months and months soaking this all in.

Next up? A parade through the streets of downtown Denver later this week.

This story was first published by Sactown Sports‘ sister station, Denver Sports. Thank you for reading sactownsports.com. Follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.