Jokic and Nuggets on the cusp of greatness and finally earning respect

Nikola Jokic is on a hero’s journey and the goal is unprecedented; with each step he takes he does something that’s never been done before, garnering a respect never given to the Denver Nuggets.

Jokic scored 32 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and added 12 assists in Denver’s 125-100 blowout win against the Phoenix Suns to claim the series 4-2. The Serbian became the first player in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double for an entire series as his team scored the most points in a half (81) by a road team in a playoff game in the close-out Game 6.

People will forget that many picked against the Nuggets in their matchup with the eighth-seed Timberwolves in round one. It won’t be in the history books that the Kevin Durant trade swung the odds in the favor of the Phoenix Suns, making them overwhelming favorites in the West and to beat the Nuggets in round two. The back story of what the last few years have felt like could soon be erased like Michael Jordan’s loser native before the 1991 NBA Finals.

Marv Albert spoke over the pregame clip for NBC for a Bulls-Cavs game:

“The ultimate achievement in any sports career is to lead your team to the championship yet it is a plateau never reached by some of sports greatest. O.J. Simpson was the first running back to break the two thousand-yard barrier this one-man highlight film complied five consecutive 1000-yard seasons yet he never had a single moment in the Super Bowl. Ernie Banks one of the greatest hitting shortstops of all time, back-to-back MVPs Mr. Cub would never be Mr. World Series. Bob Lanier battled all of the premier big men from Willis Reed to Dave Cowens. Bill Russell to Wilt Chamberlain. But he never made the trip to the NBA Finals. And Michael Jordan his visions of playing in The Finals have yet to be seen. One of basketball’s most remarkable players the seven-time all-star is still in search of the greatest challenge of his career. Will this be the year that Michael Jordan reaches that ultimate goal?”

Like Jordan’s two MVPs before his first title with the Chicago Bulls, five-time All-Star Nikola Jokic has claimed the league’s best trophy twice. Like Mike, Nikola’s path to respect is paved at this time of year. Jordan changed the game, making regular season accomplishments laughable in the contrast of rings.

“I always knew how great he was, I’m not surprised that these guys are good,” two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant who Jokic sent packing said after Game 6. KD did stop to hug Joker and whisper something into his ear as they walked off the court “I’ve been playing against him for a minute now…Jokic is an all-time great, he’ll go down as one of the all-time great centers to ever touch a basketball. He did what he was supposed to do.”

Like the Bulls in 1991, the Nuggets have never been to an NBA Finals. Like the Bulls then, they’ve four times in franchise history made it to the Conference Finals then crashed out.

The Jordan Bulls never got the respect of Bird’s Celtics nor Magic’s Lakers because neither Jordan nor the Bulls had ever done it on the biggest stage.

With those opportunities stricken from him by fallen teammates in years past, Jokic’s Nuggets have finally earned another shot at the big stage.

It was never going to be MVPs, it was never going to be regular season records, or our Mountain Lion mascot that legitimized the Mile High City as a hoops hotbed. Our chance lies in the hands of a pudgy second-round pick from Serbia who has been snubbed and disrespected over and over again, just like the town he now calls home.

“It seems like for years now we’re just some dusty old cow town in the Rocky Mountains with the little respect that we get,” Michael Malone began ranting. “And you can sit there and fight it and complain about it or you can just embrace who we are and what we have. I’d rather not waste time on those that count us out or don’t give us the respect that we deserve as a team and everything that we’ve been and we’ve done. But there’s one thing we haven’t done. And until we win a championship, people are going to keep saying that about us. So that’s what drives us, winning a championship. Getting to the Western Conference Finals doesn’t do it. Getting to the finals doesn’t do it. Winning a championship and that’s something that we can all savor and enjoy and embrace and have forever and it’s something no one can ever take from you. And that’s what our motivation is on a day-to-day basis.”

We don’t know what path lies ahead for Jokic’s Nuggets, who are now the title favorites. We do know Jokic is eight games away from cementing his legacy as one of the game’s greatest to ever do it and giving his franchise its first-ever ring.

“I never imagined I was going to be in the NBA,” Jokic said. “I’m just happy that my team is winning over the last five years. We are improving every year and every year. It’s just amazing to be part of this journey with these guys and I think we have something we can do something nice.”

Eight more for something really nice.

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