It took 56 years for the Larry O’Brien Trophy to find its way to the Mile High City, but it finally happened: the Denver Nuggets are the 2023 NBA champions and deservedly so. They clinched the first title in the franchise’s history in front of a frantic home crowd on Monday night, beating the Miami Heat 94-89 in a nervy, tightly-contested Game 5 of the best-of-seven Finals series.

Once again, the Nuggets were led by eventual Finals MVP Nikola Jokić, who finished the game with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists to cap off a playoff performance for the history books as he became the first NBA player ever to lead the playoffs in total points, total rebounds and total assists. Monday’s triumph was the ultimate vindication for Jokić, who was accused of stat-padding just a couple of month ago.

The 28-year-old center from Serbia is not one to gloat, though, and all he wanted to do after wrapping up the title on Monday was to get home to his horses as soon as possible. To his dismay, he has a parade to attend first, as the city of Denver plans to celebrate its NBA champions on Thursday. After all, the Nuggets just ended a long title drought, becoming the 21st team to win an NBA championship, leaving just 10 franchises without a single title in the league.

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