Two years later, the scene is totally different at Ball Arena

Ball Arena is set for a coronation with the Joker ready to be named king of the NBA.

The mood in the Mile High City and around the Denver Nuggets is a lot different than it was two years ago to the date. On June 12, 2021, a clip from the night before’s Nuggets game went viral of a Phoenix Suns beating up a Denver fan while shouting “Suns in 4.”

Phoenix would beat Denver a night later to finish off a four-game sweep of the Nuggets en route to a trip to the NBA Finals.

nuggets & their fans both taking L’s this series pic.twitter.com/4HjzGSEW0m

— gabb 💕 (@gabbgoudy) June 12, 2021

The low moment for the Nuggets came in the second round without star guard Jamal Murray, who had just suffered a torn ACL a few months prior.

Now Murray, on the side of Nikola Jokic who was ejected from that Game 4, are one win away from the first title in Nuggets history. The Larry O’Brien Trophy is at Ball Arena and ready to go for Game 5 of the Nuggets series against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Larry O’Brien Trophy is in the building. #NBAFinals

Do the Nuggets win it for the first time ever tonight? #9sports pic.twitter.com/1uOj6fD6az

— Scotty Gange (@Scotty_G6) June 12, 2023

For good measure, the Suns got knocked out by the Milwaukee Bucks that year, blowing a 2-0 lead by losing four-straight games. Denver also got the Suns in six, beating them in the second round in this year’s playoffs, essentially ending this era of Phoenix hoops.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets won their first playoff series since that ugly moment and haven’t stopped winning since. If Denver does finish the job on Monday, their 16-4 record in the playoffs will be the second-best (to the 2018 Golden State Warriors) since the NBA went to a best-of-seven format across all four rounds.

And hey maybe the man Suns in 4 guy beat up, just needed to wear a watch for every piece of hardware Jokic was about to collect.

So with 48 minutes, the Nuggets can put the final nail in the coffin on the Suns in 4 guy and turn June 12 into one of the best dates in Denver sports history.

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