Congrats to the Denver Nuggets on winning their NBA Championship!
What an amazing achievement and to see how far they have come over the last few years- building, grinding and assembling and nurturing a team which has come through on the biggest stage. Like any team, there are setbacks such as in the bubble, injuries to key players while also some luck in getting some strong pieces who stayed healthy and ready to help the team get over the line. Truly embodying team basketball and the absolutely right collective mindset to winning.
I wanted to also reflect on Nikola Jokic. The Joker has been an absolute beast in the post season and so very different last year when they bowed out to the Warriors - granted that they were missing Jamal Murray as well as a year of experience certainly made them look more like a team.
Firstly, the sheer numbers that Jokic has been putting up has been insane - the triple doubles (and the volume in those triple doubles) as well as identifying what the team needs and going out and executing. Absolutely ice-cool operator and definitely embodies MVP in terms of making his teammates around him better - freeing them up to be just experts in their trade. Just spot up and score.
Not only his ability to be a point centre, but also mopping up rebounds and scoring and making the right play - without jumping out of the gym. It is this type of basketball that makes it attractive on many levels (playing in teams from youngsters) rather than just pure individual 1v1 brilliance. His play makes it exciting to watch and may not be "highlight reel" making the nightly Top 10 plays, but if you are a basketball fan with some level of basketball IQ it is very beautiful to watch. In some ways, it is why the Warriors have been so popular as it is quite relatable basketball, but somewhat even more so, as they don't have insane flame throwers on their team. Relatable as the best player was a guy who barely gets of the ground, but can impact the play in the right way.
Definitely deserves his flowers and as Coach Malone says, that he is a very nice and genuine person off the court, I absolutely believe it. So another congrats to Nuggets and Jokic - well deserved and look forward to more exciting basketball in the future!
