Why the Denver Nuggets won the 2022 NBA Finals

 Why the Denver Nuggets won the 2022 NBA Finals

By: Marco Rice

   
The Denver Nuggets won their first title in franchise history in 2022, they defeated the Miami Heat in 5 games. They were led by 2 time MVP (most valuable player) Nikola Jokic, he was the star of the team averaging 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the 2022 playoffs. His partner in crime, Jamal Murray, the point guard for the Nuggets was also a huge factor in the success of the team, he averaged 25 points and 6 assists. 

   As good as these two players are, they couldn't do it all, they needed help to win the championship. And I believe that this is the most overlooked part of their championship run, their role players.



    Everyone on the team bought into their role and each player fit so perfectly next to each other, that there was no way of stopping it. The two stars with Jamal, and Jokic were amazing, but the role players were the ones who helped make them that good, and get overshadowed.

    Kentavious caldwell-pope is a perfect example of how underrated the other players on the Nuggets are. Pope was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the 2022 NBA season and instantly became a starter. He would guard the other teams best scorer and shot almost 40% from three. 

    Aaron Gordon was a defensive specialis, that worked very well off the ball with Nikola Jokic. He rebounded at a very high level, and could finish strong at the rim. This led to a lot of easy assists from Jokic and Murray.

    Micheal Porter Jr. is one of the best shooters in today's game, he spacing let Murray and Jokic work well in the middle of the court and give them easy passes to make. His rebounding and high energy made it very easy to fit next to the 2 stars.

    Lastly, the bench unit was a huge part in the Nuggets success last season, they won them many games in the playoffs. The unit was stared by Bruce Brown and rookie Christian Braun, these 2 made huge impacts in the NBA Finals. 

    The stars of Denver with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were huge in their championship run, but don't forget about the role players that made it possible for Denver to finally win their first NBA championship. 

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