Written By: Steve Lee
The simple answer to this question is, of course, they can!
However, in the world of sports, nothing is ever as easy as it may seem, especially when it comes to winning back-to-back championships. While winning one title is hard enough, repeating the accomplishment a second time the following year is something that only the LA Lakers (twice, including a three-peat), the Miami Heat, and the Golden State Warriors have been able to accomplish since the 2000 season. In fact, repeating as an NBA Champion has happened ten times in NBA history.
Currently battling the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder, two young teams in foreign waters, for the top seed in the Western Conference, there are favorable Denver Nuggets odds to contend for the 2023-24 NBA title since they hosted their first championship parade last summer.
Championship Experience
Denver returns the same starting unit and coach that carried the Nuggets to the franchise’s first NBA championship. Coach Mike Malone, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. have been together since the 2019-20 season. Adding Aaron Gordon to the team and eventually the final piece of what is now their starting five with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the 2022-23 season, the Nuggets starting five is one of the most complete and complimentary units in the league.
While they did lose some of their bench depth from their title team, especially veteran players, Christian Braun and Reggie Jackson are still valuable pieces when it comes to energy and stable hands.
M.V.P.
Say what you want, but the powers that be behind the MVP voting got it wrong last year when Joel Embiid, although he had an impressive season, was awarded the newly named Michael Jordan MVP trophy. After claiming back-to-back MVP honors in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, Jokic could have and should have been the first player since Larry Bird to be the three-peat MVP.
As the front-runner for his third MVP in four years, Jokic does everything for the Nuggets averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists. Other than providing highlight reel dunks, there really isn’t anything the Serbian big man cannot do and to that point, there isn’t anyone in the league who can stop him.
Sure, he may have an off-night scoring, but the dimes that he dishes out for easy buckets more than make up for those rare occasions.
Coach’s Clipboard
Since being hired at the start of the 2015-16 season, Mike Malone has helped guide the Denver Nuggets into a Western Conference powerhouse.
As the fourth longest-tenured active coach in the league, it is surprising that Malone has yet to earn a Coach of the Year award, despite the team’s success in the last five years.
Load Management
One of the key factors that may come up during the Nuggets’ playoff run is the fact that most of their key players, aside from Murray, have avoided any long-term injuries or absences. It is also important to note that none of the Nuggets participated in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
On the other hand players like Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Brunson were key players who spent their summer competing for their country. While that is all well and good, the extra miles could come back to haunt these players should their respective teams look to make an extended playoff run.
Playing The Game
Let’s face it, the path to the Western Conference Finals is going to be tougher than a $2 steak if all teams are at their optimal health. Yet there are some contenders and pretenders who have the spotlight on them for the wrong reasons.
Minnesota has been playing without Karl-Anthony Towns for the last sixteen games in which they have gone 11-5, but now bring back a player that needs the ball. Dallas is just a Kyrie Irving hiccup away from imploding. The Suns have not lived up to expectations after creating a superteam and the Lakers and Warriors are not the powerhouse squads we all hoped they would be, but with two legendary stars with championship pedigrees, you can’t count them out.
Over in the East, other than Boston, no team stands out. The Bucks have coaching and health issues. The Knicks have battled to get to the finish line with health issues to key players and do not have the size to compete. The Cavaliers and 76ers, like the Suns, have failed to compete with the elite in the East, mainly due to various long-term health problems.
While it is never wise to count any team out, especially in a season of parity across the league, when looking ahead to the playoffs, it appears as though the Nuggets and Celtics are on a collision course to meet in the NBA Finals with Denver looking for back to back titles and Nikola Jokic to securely etch his name among the greatest players in NBA history.