The Denver Nuggets have won the 2022-23 NBA Championship by beating the Miami Heat 4-1 in the finals. This is the first-ever Championship for Denver led by their talismanic center Nikola Jokic and an exceptional supporting cast. The Nuggets defeated Heat 94-89 in Game 5 to take the title home.
However, head coach Mike Malone outlined the goal for the franchise right after winning their maiden NBA Championship. During an interview, Malone shared that the Nuggets are now done yet as they aim to win multiple championships in the coming seasons. Albeit in a celebratory mood, Malone highlighted how it is important for the Nuggets to win multiple titles as they are only getting started.
”First of all, a huge shoutout to Nuggets nation, we love you guys! Best fans in the world. All the hard work, all the sacrifice, all the dedication, all culminated with us winning a championship. But I got news for everybody out there, we’re not satisfied with one, we want more!”
This shows the hunger and determination present in the Nuggets camp. However coming back to this finals, the Nuggets were on a dominant run over the Heat. It always felt like the Heat were playing catchup and in the end, they were never really in contention.
Nuggets lost only four postseason games this time. They defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in the first round. Followed by a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Suns. They swept past LeBron James’ Lakers and company and again put up a dominant 4-1 win in the finals against the Miami Heat.
They had a superb core and most of the supporting players stepped up to the big occasion. Only Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was aged 30 in their core. The rest of the players were aged 28 or younger.
So there are possibilities of coach Malone delivering on his multiple NBA titles promises, especially after looking at the core roster. Malone went through a lot of ups and downs before winning his maiden NBA title with Denver.
He opened on what Pat Riley said to him a few years back and also shared his future goals with this team. “Pat Riley said something many years ago. I used to have it up on my board when I was a head coach in Sacramento, and it talked about the evolution of this game. And how you go from a nobody to an upstart, you go from an upstart to a winner, and a winner to a contender, and a contender to a champion the last step after a champion is to be a dynasty.”
The Nuggets are extremely well-placed in terms of roster and structure are concerned. Many top franchises are still searching for answers, while the Nuggets have already found it and it will help them win the Championship once again. This can be a start of a new dynasty in Denver.
