47 No More

The Denver Nuggets have finally done it- they are now NBA Champions. The dreaded 47 year drought is at last over, as Denver has conquered the Miami Heat in 5 games to win the NBA Finals and cement their name in the book of champions that will be immortalized for centuries. Epic feat. Long time coming. Denver- it's time to celebrate.

Timberwolves? Slayed. Suns? Slayed. Lakers? Major league slayed. Heat? Slayed. First NBA Championship? Conquered. The thing that makes it even more sweet- the Nuggs had been a team that was doubted on and disrespected by the media and casuals all year despite their proven success. Now they are the champions of the world and get to rub it in all of their doubter's faces. No flukes. No excuses. Just accept it. Denver was the best basketball team this year and they solidified it. They proved it in a serious way too.

They handled the T-Wolves soundly in five games, with three of the four dubs being decided by double digits. Then they go and take some punches from KD and D-Book, before ending their season with two blowout daggers to send 'em packin'. For whatever reason, that wasn't appealing enough. More disrespect ensued. Which was utter tomfoolery. The Nuggets; smelling the wonderland; went in and swept the Lakers in the WCF to steamroll into The Finals and send Bron into a ponder. We all know the fate for the Heat in The Finals. Mission accomplished. First championship in franchise history. The sixth longest championship drought snapped. 47 no more.

Nuggets go gold in all due thanks to the two superstars they put all their chips on: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. What a playoff run it was for both those players. Jokic may have had one of the more impressive runs of any figure in NBA Playoff history. Murray on the other hand, showed that when he is on- he is one of the most dangerous sharpshooters on the planet & quite the damn wingman to Jokic. What a run for both: Murray had the largest increase of points per game from regular season to postseason of any player of all-time with a 6.1 increase. Jokic had the second largest increase with 5.5. Throughout the entirety of the playoffs- this dude Jokic averaged 30 PPG; 13.5 RPG; and 9.5 APG(!!!). Did that go over your head? Those stats are unreal and led Jokic to a playoff "triple crown", as he is the first player in NBA Playoff history to lead all players in points; rebounding; and assists. Jokic posted 10 triple doubles as well- the most all-time in a single playoff. Jokic led the league this year with 29 of 'em in 69 games played. He posted 10 in 20 playoff games. Purely unstoppable to tame. We saw lines of 53-4-11 and 30-17-17. Like cmon. It may have been the greatest playoffs appearance of any player- all-time. Jokic was special to watch and his stellar play found an energy transfer over to Jamal Murray- who was amazing in his own right.

Murray turns into a whole different beast when it's playoff time. This playoff was no different. For him to increase his PPG by +6.1 is nuts. Which is why it's the highest increase ever for a single season. It wasn't just scorching-scoring that was special from Murray. Jamal made impact on the boards (5.7 per) and in the kitchen- dishin' out assists (7.1 per) to set up his team for success. Murray and Jokic are the first duo teammates to each drop a triple double in a NBA Finals game. Outstanding play throughout the playoffs for Murray as he has two straight epic playoff runs to his add to his resume along with a shiny ring. Murray is proving to be worth the investment for Denver- and you have to feel happy for him due to his fallbacks with all the injuries. Awesome stuff all around for JM- he never gave up.

Jokic and Murray proved to be worth the investment. Denver was great all around as a unit. Realistically- it obviously wasn't just Jokic and Murray who won the title. The whole team stepped up in different moments. Michael Porter Jr. wasn't fully consistent- but he had great defensive play throughout and made some big time shots in monumental moments. Many of his usual flaws- did not come to light across big moments of close games in the playoffs. I thought MPJ played great. He was aggressive on the boards and played both ends to the level that Denver needed. Porter Jr. played great versus the Lakers' Forwards as he posted 3 double-doubles in the sweep. MPJ just stepped up this postseason and continued to step up in the Finals, as he was an obvious mismatch for the Forwards that the Heat had sent his way. Same in that regard for Aaron Gordon. Heat just couldn't keep up. Gordon had a very lack luster playoff. He was brought to daycare by AD and LeBron in the WCF, forcing MPJ and Jokic to carry the load in the aggression department. Nonetheless, he did make some shots when he most needed to. All the other role players played solid for Denver. Michael Malone was money with the clipboard. Made the right substitutions and hit on all cylinders with his game-plan for all 4 foes. Malone has earned his ring and earned the right to party:

All of the Nuggets earned the right to party. The city and fans earned the right to party. One thing I need to address on that note: I absolutely adore the athlete that Nikola Jokic is. This guy Jokic IS sports. Or at least what sports should be about. When the final horn sounds, the crowd turned a frenzy and the Denver players and staff roared in excitement and moved forward to start their celebration- not Nikola Jokic. Check Jokic:

Sportsmanship in its purest form. Awesome stuff to visualize. What an athlete Jokic is, man. I just can't help but to adore those actions. Utmost respect from my end. For real. One of my favorite traditions is hockey's line and shake. Starting to see it done right in the NFL nowadays as well- and the jersey swap thing is awesome. What Jokic did is why sports is so pure and it shows the respect Jokic has for the sport of basketball and the players who make up the league. Delaying the celebration to pay respect. Man, great sh**.

Seeing the Denver players and staff celebrate their feat is always fun visuals. But, seeing a city show up and show out in MASSES to celebrate a title; especially a long drought snapping title; is the best visual. Hands down. With that- Denver SHOWED out. Packin' the streets and raisin' the good vibes meter to celebrate their world champions of pro basketball. They showed out so much, that they even changed Joker's feelings towards the parade:

I am happy to see Denver have a rockin' parade. I love to see it. It proves that sports is the best damn thing. Just saying. The Nuggets' players were acting like damn fools- another thing I love seeing. Just being free and letting loose- creating good vibes and memories they will take to the grave. We saw it with Brady and Gronk in TB on the boat- this time we had KCP hittin' Stone Colds' double beer slam; rook Christian Braun runnin' around like it's Project X; and Coach Malone straight up livin' his best life. Oh, and please remember folks- educate yourselves on international drinking and the tolerances of those across the globe... especially those across Europe! Apparently Jokic took some bodies that day; cough; cough; Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. Shoutout to Supersonic Jeff Green on getting his first ring on his twelfth team. Green was turnin' up at the parade too. You gotta love it. The players and staff can be themselves as they celebrate the biggest achievement of their careers and one of the most special achievements of their lives. Sports. Congrats to the Nuggets organization and all players. Congrats, Denver. 47 no more.

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