The last two conquests of the Los Angeles Lakers' bubble championship meet three years later in an NBA Finals that feels both fitting and half unexpected -- the Miami Heat half.
This is the culmination of a five-year arc for the Denver Nuggets -- what appeared before Jamal Murray tore an ACL in April 2021 to be the classic NBA slow burn to ultimate triumph: progressive advances leading into gut-punch defeats until the young team is ready. Murray's absence interrupted that journey, but the Nuggets used that time to prepare for his return.