The Denver Nuggets are one win away from their first ever NBA Finals appearance. For a franchise that’s been in existence for 56 years and a member of the NBA since 1976, that elusive win can’t happen soon enough.
But this Denver Nuggets team wasn’t built overnight. The core of former two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, talented point guard Jamal Murray, and sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. has been in place since 2018, but this season is the first where all three were healthy at once. And all they did was go out and rack up the best record in the Western Conference.
While Jokic, Murray and Porter all played huge roles in that happening, there also were some shrewd moves by general manager Calvin Booth that brought some much needed toughness, grit and athleticism to the Mile High City crew.
Following Saturday’s huge Game 3 win, head coach Mike Malone told reporters this about his team.
“I want to write history.”
Malone has his guys one win away from doing just that.
Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green Additions Begin String Of Key Roster-Building Pieces
In February 2021, the Nuggets in search of some toughness in the front court alongside Jokic, traded for Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon. That move alone brought much-needed athleticism and toughness to a finesse Nuggets frontcourt. Jokic welcomed the move with open arms, as it also allowed him less defensive responsibility and gave him a lob threat in the high-low two-man game that Malone likes to implore.
Gordon has been solid since his arrival, but this season has been his best. The former two-time Slam Dunk runner-up saw career-highs in points (16.3) and shooting percentage (56.3). In fact, his head coach called it a “travesty” that Gordon didn’t get an All-Star nod, considering the Nuggets had the best record and got just one All-Star in Jokic.
In the summer of 2021, the Nuggets signed journeyman Jeff Green, who provides size, versatility and range shotmaking. Green was the first domino that began the Nuggets roster build around their core trio.
Nuggets Add More Toughness And Shotmaking
Following the 2021-22 season, where the Nuggets lost in the first round in five hard-fought games to the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors, and without the aforementioned Murray (ACL) all season and Porter Jr. (back) for all but nine games, the team went out looking to upgrade its roster to help Jokic.
They added guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a gritty wing defender and knockdown shooter who was a key member of the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA bubble run to the championship. All he did was go out and shoot the best percentage of his career from three this past season at 42.3.
Not done, they also brought in Bruce Brown, a tough, versatile wing who’s capable of playing multiple roles for the team. And he’s done just that, playing some shooting guard, small forward and even small-ball power forward for the Nuggets.
For good measure, Booth drafted former Kansas wing Christian Braun in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft. That move gave the Nuggets another athletic wing who can score and defend at a high clip.
In the end it was a concerted effort to fix the team’s perimeter defense while getting tougher. And that’s exactly why the Nuggets are in the positions they’re in right now, set to make their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.
