The Nuggets finally got their wish to win the first championship in team history, which is not only a big event for this team from Denver and the city, but also for the NBA league, because the birth of a new championship is definitely significant, and it will inspire teams that have never won a championship before. The Nuggets team and players such as Jokic are also inspiring enough, they have worked hard to win the championship after years of loss, grinding and hard work, the best players, the most suitable roster equipment, plus a coach who is persistent to put all his energy into the team, and the best timing to create the Nuggets' first championship in team history.

Team history

There is no precedent for reaching the finals

Let's take a look at the Nuggets history. Since joining the NBA in 1976, this team has never reached the Finals, they only participated in the Finals when they were in the ABA League, which was the season before the Nuggets joined the NBA, it has been forty-seven or eight years ago, the Nuggets have never tasted the Finals, and the Western Conference Finals are their ceiling.

Prior to this season, the Nuggets had only reached the Western Conference Finals four times. The earliest was in 1978, and the most recent was in 2020, and the Nuggets were all home from the Finals in all four Western Conference Finals. In the next three Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets lost to the same opponent, the Lakers, who seemed to be a huge floodgate in the West before the Nuggets hit the Finals.

This time, the Nuggets won the first championship in team history, and it was in the Western Conference Finals that they removed the biggest stumbling block and were also their fatal enemies, the Lakers, that they soared. And the Nuggets swept their old opponents 4-0, and then fulfilled their dreams in the Finals, which is not only as simple as "revenge", but also cannot be attributed to coincidence, it is fate, and it is more like "God's will".

In addition to the Lakers, in the playoffs, except for a little bit of trouble against the Suns, who have the so-called Big Four, the rest of the series are won by a 4-1 margin, including the Finals opponent Heat, it can be said that they are not their opponents, and the Nuggets are really, really strong this season.

healthy

Key players did not miss multiple games due to injury

To say that the Nuggets can successfully win the championship, the team's main roster structure has always maintained enough health and fighting effectiveness, which should be the first factor for them to create the best record in team history. With 82 games in the regular season, plus four rounds of playoffs, and more than <> games played in a season, the body is definitely the biggest cost to achieve good results in the NBA, which is known as the world's No. <> basketball league.

This season, the Nuggets have done a good job of rotation, with no core players missing multiple games and important scramble due to injuries that affect the team's record. Like other major opponents, including the eastern and western teams, James, "thick eyebrows", Curry, Durant, Paul in the west, and "alphabet brother" and "the great" in the east, all have the painful experience of being unable to play due to injury in many consecutive games, which affects the team's state and the body is not strong at key moments. In the Finals, the opponents the Nuggets faced against the Miami Heat could not be considered a complete lineup, and the Nuggets basically had to be all-tailed.

strength

Jokic has an unprecedented playoff record

In terms of team strength, the Nuggets have come to their best period.

Jokic is extremely powerful, seemingly losing three consecutive regular season MVP titles, but he is maturing and getting stronger and stronger, and the 500+250+150 record in the playoffs is unprecedented and almost unfinished. No matter who he plays against, he is an ability to crush opponents, and the ability of other players in the Nuggets is completely liberated.

It is not just Jamal Murray who benefits, with Jokic's strategy, Murray no longer has to take care of organizing the team and can devote himself fully to the attack. Role players and substitutes such as Aaron Gordon and Porter are naturally talented, offensive and defensive, and they are like a fish in water, sometimes they can be the icing on the cake for the team, and sometimes they can help. For example, Gordon's 4 points alone in the Finals Game 27 helped the team tremendously.

Hang on

Malone chose Jokic as the cornerstone of the team

The so-called perseverance refers to Nuggets coach Mike Malone who has shaped the team wholeheartedly and the club's absolute trust and promotion of the coaching staff, of course, there is also the long-term insistence of the players. Malone has been coaching the Nuggets for eight years since he officially became Nuggets coach in the summer of 2015. In this not short period of time, the Nuggets have gone from being a team on the fringes of the playoffs to becoming a regular in the playoffs in recent years, and Malone can be the first contributor.

When choosing whether to rely on Jokic or Nurkic, Malone finally made the right decision after a season of experimentation, and with Jokic as the cornerstone of the team, it can be said that Coach Malone is really insightful. At first, many people were not optimistic about Jokic, but Malone just insisted on his opinion. After Malone coaching, the player who was only selected by the Nuggets with the 2014st pick in 41 has now become a league supergiant.

The same is true for the Serb, who has been in the NBA for 9 years before he knows it. After unremitting efforts, tenacious persistence, countless failures, playoff twists and turns, and failures, the mentors and apprentices really survived the disaster and persevered to achieve positive results. Marlon and many of his disciples have weathered the storm, and the efforts of Jokic, Murray, Porter Jr. and others have finally paid off most effectively this summer.

Opportunity

The teams that were favored before the game all had their own difficulties

When it comes to opportunities, this is a topic of discussion under the assertion that many American media have thrown out that "this season's finals are the least valuable". The "low gold content" argument is somewhat biased, but you have to say that it has some truth. For example, the Heat, who entered the Finals, are indeed lacking in overall strength, the regular season ranking is very low, and they only got an eighth place in the Eastern Conference by playing the play-offs, and only Butler in the team is barely a first-line player in the league, which is simply a civilian team, this argument is to give an example that the Nuggets did not meet a strong opponent, and even the Nuggets themselves are not strong enough.

This season, many strong teams have a lot of problems, and the teams that were optimistic before the game have their own difficulties, allowing the Nuggets to catch up with the best time to win the championship: for example, the Nets collapsed halfway, the Lakers James gradually aged, the Warriors had infighting before the start of the season, Curry was injured for a while The team has always been hovering in the middle of the game, the 76ers Harden and Embiid are still waiting to run-in The key moments are soft, the Suns Durant joins halfway, Paul is also injured in the playoffs, the Bucks, the first in the regular season league, are completely abnormal in the first round, "alphabet brother" It's because of injuries that can't play and so on.

This statement cannot be said to be completely unreasonable, but it can still be used to scare back with a very common saying: opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. The Nuggets have all the first three conditions, and when the team comes to its best period, it is inevitable to fully grasp the fighter, seize the opportunity, make history, and win the championship.

Text/Reporter Liu Ailin

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Jokic From "Coke Boy" to Big Winner in Life

The Nuggets won their first championship in team history, and Nuggets center Jokic was naturally the absolute candidate for the Finals' Most Valuable Player. Jokic conquered everyone with his unusually comprehensive and delicate basketball skills, and from this point of view, Jokic is a player who can compete with Curry, and they are all epoch-making representatives.

Jokic's coming-of-age story is inspirational: Many athletes enjoyed sports as children, but Jokic was an exception. Jokic was taller than the average child as a child, and he was also fatter than the average child. He enjoys studying culture, math, history, and more. However, Jokic hated sports so much that in high school Jokic couldn't even do a push-up. As a teenager, the only way Jokic could watch the NBA was on the Internet. At the age of 14, Jordan and Bryant's highlights caught Jokic's attention, and it was at this time that Jokic began to like basketball.

Jokic has not been practicing basketball for long, he has only been in basketball training for 6 months, and the 17-year-old Jokic entered the professional team. He entered the professional team in 2012, and although the Nuggets drafted Jokic in 2014, the Nuggets had to wait a year for Jokic because Jokic needed to play another year in the Adriatic League. In 2015, Jokic won the Adriatic League MVP and Best Prospect awards before entering the NBA.

Jokic during this period, the most famous story is that he loved to drink coke. Jokic once revealed that at that time, he drank 3.78 liters of Coke every day after training, and Jokic drank Coke like water. "Coke Boy" was once a famous nickname for Jokic. But for the sake of his career, Jokic made the decision to drink the last Coke of his career on his flight to Denver. However, interestingly, Jokic seemed to break his ring at this year's finals, and he drank Sprite during the break in the game, which became an interesting talk from the outside world.

After Jokic entered the NBA, he continued to improve almost every year and complete his self-transformation. Jokic on the pitch is an all-powerful guy: he has solid and delicate technique on the inside, a tough enough body to occupy the vantage point on the inside, and then a silky feel to finish the score. At the same time, Jokic's three-point shooting has a certain skill, and looking at the helpless eyes of Laker Davis when defending Jokic's three-pointer, you can see how helpless it is to be taught by the teacher. Jokic also has a brilliant passing kung fu, which seems to be an understatement, but every time he is knife-sharp and deadly. Jokic's kaleidoscopic presence on attack is pleasing to the eye and admirable.

It is precisely because of this that Jokic has achieved many new NBA records, such as in the third game of the Finals, he got 30+20+10 super data, which is the first person in NBA Finals history. However, Jokic has never valued data, so there was an interesting sideline interview. At the time, the reporter asked Jokic, "What do you think of such historical data?" Jokic replied: "It doesn't mean much to me." "I knew you would say that." The reporter then said.

On the court Jokic is an omnipotent superplayer, but off the court he is a gentle husband, a warm dad. Jokic has publicly stated that the reason why his life is so full is not only because of basketball, but also because of a wonderful love. It is worth mentioning that Jokic will tie his wedding ring firmly to one of his shoes every game. This is a habit that Jokic formed after he officially and successfully proposed to his wife Natalia in January 2020. Jokic pinned his love for his wife in this way, which is also his unique romance.

Jokic, meanwhile, is a heartwarming dad. After the first game of the finals, the picture of Jokic's right index finger on his left hand rushed by, and the outside world had a different interpretation. Jokic explained in a later interview: "I was referring to the position of my palm, which was a celebratory gesture for me and my daughter, representing a ballad that she liked very much. ”

The moment Jokic lifted his first NBA Finals trophy and first Finals Most Valuable Player trophy, he reached the pinnacle of his career and was in the limelight. But in his heart, his wife Natalia has always been the MVP of his life. Jokic once said: "At least in our family, Natalia is the MVP, I always say that she gives too much for her daughter and the whole family." ”

This is the "teacher of appointment" that people love, a big man who can do everything, a good husband who is considerate. With his career at the pinnacle and his family happy, he is the standard big winner in life.

Text/Reporter Song Xiang