DENVER, CO — Thanks to the Denver Nuggets defeating the Miami Heat 94-89 to claim their first-ever NBA title. In the case of NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, his dominating performance in the series clincher and post-season has helped him add his name to some of the all-time greatest big men.
With two NBA Most Valuable Player awards already on his resume, in addition to being named Finals MVP, the argument as to whether or not Jokic joins the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajawon, Shaquille O’Neal and Bill Russell.
Some may argue that it’s a bit of a stretch to include Jokic as he doesn’t have the accomplished resume as some of his fellow big men contemporaries, but if you look closer, there is a legitimate argument for the 7’1 Serbian.
At the still young age of 29, Jokic already has more MVP’s, rings and Finals MVP’s than Ewing, more MVP’s than David Robinson, O’Neal and Olajuwon, and while Jokic only has five All-NBA selections at this point, based on his current trajectory, he can easily get another four to five.
Combine that with the fact that the Nuggets core of Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are all still in their twenties, and rivals such as Los Angeles, Golden State and Phoenix are dealing with aging players, potential rebuilds and rising payrolls and supermax salaries, and Denver can easily go on a two-four year championship run.
Denver is no longer the team that many choose to ignore or is completely overlooked, now as Neely crowned champions, all roads to the title go thru the Mile High City, where at 5,280 feet above sea level, Jokic will continue to add to an already stellar resume and contend for many more titles.