In terms of opponent seeding, Denver´s run to this NBA championship was unlike any other since the league went to the 16-team playoff format 40 seasons ago.
The Nuggets´ road to this title saw them beat No. 8 Minnesota in the Western Conference quarterfinals, No. 4 Phoenix in the West semifinals, the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the West finals and then the East´s No. 8 seed in Miami in the NBA Finals.
The Nuggets – who were the No. 1 seed in the West – are the first champion in the 16-team format that didn´t have to play a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed on their way to the title. Only six of the last 39 champions in this format got through the playoffs by facing just one top-three seed along the way.
Miami – which ousted East No. 1 seed Milwaukee in Round 1 this year – was bidding to be the fifth team in this format that defeated both No. 1 seeds on their way to a championship. The teams that got that done: Toronto in 2019, the Lakers in both 2001 and 2002, and Houston in 1995.
That Rockets team had – by far – the toughest road, in terms of seeds faced, on the way to a title in this format. Houston was the No. 6 seed out of the West that season and had to beat No. 3 Utah in Round 1, No. 2 Phoenix in Round 2, No. 1 San Antonio for the West title and East No. 1 Orlando in the finals.
That was the Houston team that prompted Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, now a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, to famously proclaim “Don´t ever underestimate the heart of a champion” when those NBA Finals concluded.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, front, gestures during the first half of Game 5 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
LEBRON TAKES OVER
Barring some unforeseen comebacks, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James will start next season as the oldest player in the NBA.
Udonis Haslem was the oldest in the league this season; his 20-year career, all with Miami, is now complete. Haslem turned 43 last week.
Golden State´s Andre Iguodala has also said he is retiring; Iguodala is 39.
That leaves James as the new holder of the oldest-player crown. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader – he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for that distinction this season – turns 39 in December.
Haslem was the fifth-oldest player to ever appear in an NBA game — and the oldest to play in a playoff game, when he got into a Heat game last week at the age of 42 years, 363 days.
Vince Carter played until he was 43, as did Robert Parish. Kevin Willis appeared in five games late in the 2006-07 season as a 44-year-old.
The oldest player in NBA history is little-known Nat Hickey, who was two days shy of his 46th birthday when he played his last game on Jan. 28, 1948. Hickey appeared in only two games in his brief career as a player-coach with the Providence Steamrollers; his first was the day before his finale. He scored two points in his playing career.
JOKIC THE SIXTH
Denver’s Nikola Jokic – the pride of Serbia – won the NBA Finals MVP award, and it’s the sixth time that an international player claimed that honor.
Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) won finals MVP in 1994 and 1995. San Antonio’s Tony Parker (France) won it in 2007, Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) won it in 2011 and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) won it in 2021.
LOOKING AHEAD
It’s not exactly a rule, but it’s generally assumed that the NBA finalists will find their way into the Christmas Day lineup the next season.
Should Denver be picked to play on Dec. 25 next season, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that the Nuggets are part of the league’s holiday quintupleheader. If Miami gets picked, it would be the second Heat appearance on Christmas since 2015; the last Heat game on Dec. 25 was against New Orleans in 2020, that game getting played in an empty arena in Miami because of the pandemic.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is 8-0 in Christmas games.
20TH CHAMPION
Denver becomes the 20th current franchise now with an NBA championship.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston are tied with 17 apiece. Golden State, Chicago, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami, New York, Houston, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Atlanta, Washington, Oklahoma City, Portland, Toronto, Sacramento and Dallas also have championships in their franchise histories — although not all of those titles were won while playing in their current city.
Denver´s win leaves Phoenix, Utah, Brooklyn, Orlando, Indiana, Charlotte, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Clippers as the 10 current franchises still waiting for a first NBA championship.
MONEY WINNERS
Denver, as would be expected, claimed the biggest share of the NBA playoff pool this season. The Nuggets got $7,129,558, or about 26% of the money that the league distributes to playoff teams.
Miami will collect $4,837,547. Boston will get the third-biggest share, earning $2,217,347.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) is defended by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, left, during the first half of Game 5 of basketball’s NBA Finals, Monday, June 12, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
