For the Nuggets, it had been 24 years in the making. The team staring back at them was a familiar foe: The Los Angeles Lakers.
It was the 2009 Western Conference Finals.
The last time the Nuggets had made it this far, 1985, it was the also the Lakers standing between them and the NBA Finals. But since then, Magic Johnson had turned into Kobe Bryant. James Worthy became Pau Gasol. Byron Scott became Trevor Ariza.
The challenge was the same – try and beat one of the NBA’s hallmark franchises. The Nuggets, in some respects, were the surprise contender.