The Denver Nuggets have a bit of a storied history. Founded as the Denver Larks, the team played under the name of the Denver Rockets before joining the now defunct American Basketball Association as a charter franchise in 1967.
The team changed its name to the Nuggets in 1974. By 1976 the Nuggets challenged the New York Nets in their quest for an ABA championship but fell short to the team that wasled by Hall-of-Famer Julius Irving.
Fast forward 47 years after joining the NBA, the Nuggets are now playing for their first league championship in franchise history. Denver won the Western Conference Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep earlier this month and will take on the Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
The Nuggets have defied the odds all season. Led by all-star center and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, they clinched the top overall seed in the west before eliminating Minnesota, Phoenix and Los Angeles from the postseason on their way to the finals.
Jason Kosmicki, Nuggets radio play-by-play broadcaster, has been calling the team's games for the past 14 seasons and says this Denver team is much more focused and driven than any other he's seen.
"They are 100% engaged," said Kosmicki. "There's a lot of lot of energy in the time out huddles. Everybody is on the same page. It's amazing how everybody has bought into this system of winning and being successful as well as they have."
Denver came close to a finals berth in 2020, but they fell to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in the NBA playoff bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now they are just four wins away from bringing another professional sports championship to the Mile High City.
Kosmicki said he likes the Nuggets chances of doing so.
"If you're being an honest NBA fan or analyst, you have to admit that Denver was the best team all year," said Kosmicki. "So that's where I stand. I'm glad they're not playing Boston because the Nuggets get home court back with Miami getting in."
The series will open in Denver at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets have not lost the pasteight games this postseason. Games 1 and 2 will take place on Thursday, June 1 and Sunday, June 4. The Nuggets earned home court advantage over Miami because the eighth-seeded Heat upset the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 2023 NBA Finals will be televised exclusively on ABC.
