Long-suffering Nuggets fans finally get their moment in the sun

The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions.

That’s a sentence that many long-time basketball fans in the Mile High City never thought they’d read. It’s right up there with “Aliens have invaded” and “Person walks on Mars.” Possible? Yes. Probable? Not in anyone’s lifetime.

But on Monday night, in front of a raucous crowd at Ball Arena, it became a reality. The impossible dream, the improbable summit had been reached.

Any championship, in any sport, is worth celebrating. Colorado sports fans have certainly had plenty of practice at reveling in the streets and parading through downtown.

But none of the previous titles are quite like this one. Yes, the Avalanche winning the first championship in the history of the state was great in 1996. Without a doubt, the Broncos finally getting over the hump in Super Bowl XXXII was amazing. But this, the Nuggets winning an NBA title, is different.

For one thing, it just seemed impossible. The Association is grossly titled toward big-market teams. It’s designed for Boston and Los Angeles, two franchises who’ve each raised 17 banners, to go win titles. Teams like Denver are essentially fodder; they’re opponents in much the same way that the Washington Generals give the Harlem Globetrotters someone to beat at every stop.

But this goes much deeper than the structure of the league. The seemingly impossible nature of the Nuggets winning a title goes well beyond TV networks wanting stars and big markets for ratings.

Instead, it’s a belief that is rooted in decades of misery, misfortune and miscalculations. These are the things that have jaded long-suffering, fatalistic Nuggets fans.

The team’s history dates back to 1967, when they were one of the original members of the upstart American Basketball Association. There, they were one of the best teams in the league. But they never managed to win a championship, losing in their only Finals appearance to Dr. J and the New York Nets in 1976.

The following season, the Nuggets were one of four teams to join the National Basketball Association after the merger. They were the last to reach an NBA Finals, waiting more than four decades to finally get there this season.

In total, that’s 56 years of waiting. There are few franchises that have waited longer. The Cleveland Guardians are in the midst of a 74-year drought. It’s been 65 for the Detroit Lions. And others are in the mix. But few teams have asked fans to be as patient as those who have supported the Nuggets for all of these years.

Along the way, there has been plenty of heartache. The list is almost laughable.

At one point, David Thompson was among the best players in the league. Prior to the 1977-78 season, “Skywalker” signed the most-lucrative contract in the history of basketball. He was on par with Julius Erving, a superstar player. But drug issues derailed his career. Eventually, the Nuggets had to trade him to Seattle.

In 1985, Denver made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. There, they faced the Los Angeles Lakers, a team in the height of their “Showtime” era. And the Nuggets gave them fits, winning Game 2 in L.A. to make the series interesting. But after dropping Game 3, Denver’s hopes went up in smoke during a heartbreaking 120-116 loss in Game 4. Not only did that put them in a 3-1 hole, but Nuggets star Alex English was lost for the series with a a broken thumb. Denver would be eliminated in Game 5, losing 153-109.

It took nearly a decade for the Nuggets to galvanize the city again. That happened during the 1994 NBA Playoffs, when they upset the SuperSonics in the first round, becoming the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1. Denver then rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the second round against Utah to force a Game 7, before finally bowing out. But the stage was set for years of success, thanks to a young roster boasting the likes of Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

Prior to the start of the next season, however, Ellis suffered a knee injury in a pickup game. He played just six games that season and just 48 the following year. But by 1996-97, the power forward was averaging 21.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. That’s when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, derailing his career for good.

Mutombo was an All-Star the two seasons after the upset of Seattle, but that didn’t convince the Nuggets to ink the center to a long-term deal. Instead, they let him walk away for nothing, signing with the Hawks as a free agent. Denver got nothing in return for the future Hall of Fame inductee.

Abdul-Rauf’s departure was even more head-scratching. During the 1995-96 season, the guard refused to stand for the national anthem. This caused a firestorm, as the NBA suspended the sharpshooter. The turmoil ended his time in Denver, as the Nuggets traded him to the Kings during the offseason.

Poof. A center, a power forward and one of the best shooters in league history gone in two years. The Nuggets would go eight years without making the playoffs.

That finally ended with the arrival of Carmelo Anthony. Fresh off winning a national championship, the forward with a million-dollar smile brought winning basketball back to Denver.

For 10 straight years, the Nuggets made the playoffs. In nine of those seasons, however, they were bounced in the first round. The one time they advanced, Denver lost to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, falling in six games. That series will forever be remembered for the Nuggets throwing away Game 1 in L.A. on an Anthony Carter inbounds pass.

By 2011, Melo wanted out of Denver. He longed for the bright lights of the big city, forcing a trade to New York. The Nuggets received a haul from the Knicks, setting them up for a great season.

In 2012-13, Denver went 57-25. That remains the most regular-season wins in franchise history. But in April, with the playoffs on the horizon, Danilo Gallinari suffered a torn ACL. The Nuggets would go on to get upset by the Warriors in the first round.

That series was the springboard for Golden State’s dynasty. It also led to the firing of George Karl, who won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award that season.

Five non-playoff seasons would follow. That led to this core, the group that would eventually reach the mountaintop.

But even that wasn’t easy. There was the painful defeat to the Lakers in the bubble, when Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was decided on a last-second three-pointer by Anthony Davis because Mason Plumlee was slow to switch on a pick. Then, there was the Jamal Murray knee injury.

That April ACL derailed Denver’s chances in 2021, when they had to endure a sweep at the hands of the Suns, and 2022, when they fell to the eventual-champion Warriors. Nikola Jokic won the Most Valuable Player award in each of those seasons, but the Nuggets didn’t have the firepower to compete in the playoffs.

It felt like more of the same, just another chapter in a tortured history. Add it to the list.

Nuggets fans endured an 11-71 season, as well as 17-65. Denver didn’t get the first-overall pick in either subsequent draft. In fact, they’ve never seen their position improve in the lottery; they’ve either remained in their spot or slipped back.

That’s how it goes with this team. That’s the life of a Nuggets fan. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Until now. Until this team. Until this season.

This time around, it all went right. They captured the No. 1 seed in the West for the first time ever. They beat the Timberwolves in five, dispatched of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Suns in six, and then overcame the Lakers for the first time in a playoff series, sweeping LeBron James in the Western Conference Finals.

And now, the ultimate prize. A 4-1 win over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Confetti fell at Ball Arena. Jokic hoisted the Finals MVP trophy. Michael Malone quieted his critics. Jamal Murray exorcised the demons of two lost years. And everyone ever associated with the franchise celebrated.

It was a sigh of relief. It was tears of joy. It was the loudest of hoots and hollers.

The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions. For real.

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