The Denver Nuggets will proudly call themselves the reigning NBA Champions unless one of the other 29 teams in the NBA supplants them next season. Even though they were the No. 1 seed, the Nuggets were consistently doubted over the season and playoffs before their impressive run to the Finals.
The run that Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets had this season was eerily similar to the 2011 championship won by Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. The similarities begin with both being European seven-footers that had been doubted as playoff performers, but they go much deeper.
The Mavericks went 12-3 against the Western Conference, beating the Trail Blazers in six, the Lakers in four, and the OKC Thunder in five before making it to the Finals. The Nuggets also went 12-3, beating the Timberwolves in five, the Suns in six, and the Lakers in four before making it to the Finals.
Another similarity that we can see is that the Lakers were swept by both teams, as the Mavs swept Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol on the verge of a three-peat whereas the Nuggets beat a LeBron James and Anthony Davis-led Lakers squad that had beaten them in 2020 as well. Dallas in 2011 and Denver in 2023 also had another commonality in this series, as both teams shot 57.5 eFG% from the floor to outshoot the Lakers.
The OKC Thunder that the Mavs took down were led by Kevin Durant, whereas the Phoenix Suns that the Nuggets took down were also led by Kevin Durant. KD averaged 28.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists against Dallas in 2011 and 29.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists against Denver in 2023.
Ultimately, both teams had to take down the Miami Heat in the Finals, with the Mavericks doing it in six games against a heavily favored Heat squad led by LeBron James and the Nuggets doing it in five games as the favorites against a Heat squad led by Jimmy Butler. Both teams won the title on June 12 as well.
We rarely get to see parallels like this form over the course of playoff runs between teams that won a title over a decade apart. This is quite neat given Jokic and Nowitzki will both be regarded as two of the best European players in league history, with Giannis Antetokounmpo also in that conversation.
Has Nikola Jokic Surpassed Dirk Nowitzki?
Nikola Jokic and Dirk Nowitzki are players of different eras but changed the game in a similar way. We never saw a shooter as proficient as Dirk at that size in league history. There is a reason Nowitzki ended his 21-year career with No. 6 in all-time points scored with 31,560 points. He has one less MVP than Jokic, but his 2011 title run is considered by many to be one of the greatest in league history. He averaged 27.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists for that run that helped him single-handedly take the crown of the greatest European player in league history.
Jokic has won one more MVP than Dirk and has tied him in championships and Finals MVPs. Jokic has three All-NBA First Team appearances and five overall, while Nowitzki made First Team four times and has 12 appearances overall. Dirk has also made 14 All-Star teams to Jokic’s five, so the scales of longevity are yet to be tilted in the Serbian center’s favor, though he can surpass Nowitzki’s accolades by the time he retires.
Nowitzki was overachieving with the Mavs in a much harder era of the Western Conference, so Jokic still has some time to establish his legacy in this league. He’s very close to surpassing Nowitzki and many believe he already has. He still has years left in him, so it’s a question of whether he adds more accolades to his name or starts falling off. He averaged 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in his title-winning playoff run.
Their title runs prove that cream always rises to the top, no matter how many times you try to push it down. Jokic and Nowitzki were under-appreciated by fans until their championship runs. It was a legacy-defining title for Dirk and it’s great to see Jokic define his legacy in a similar fashion with his 2023 title run.
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