Defending the Title: Don’t forget to enjoy the Denver Nuggets regular season journey

For the next few months, hopefully through June, I’m going to write a column every Thursday about the Denver Nuggets championship chase. Having already won last season’s championship, it’s only fitting that this column is all about defending that title. Topics will always focus on that title defense in this column, ranging from Denver’s power level, to their lineup flexibility, to upcoming opponents, and much more.

The goal of this column: to prepare readers for what’s to come and to document the journey along the way.

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I’m about as guilty as anyone when it comes to looking forward.

Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Sometimes, the best thing a fan base can read at any particular moment is an article focusing on “What does this mean for the future?” For rebuilding teams, it’s often a big game from a young prospect. Look no further than Tuesday’s Nuggets game vs the San Antonio Spurs when head coach Michael Malone called Victor Wembanyama “the future of the NBA.”

Most of the time though: those articles, thoughts, and feelings miss out on an important aspect of the journey: the journey itself.

Many Nuggets fans remember the 2018-19 season very fondly. After faltering the previous two seasons and missing the playoffs right at the end of the year, the Denver Nuggets finally broke through, winning 54 games, and claiming the two seed in the Western Conference behind the *checks notes* Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry led Golden State Warriors. Denver had an opportunity to get to the Western Conference Finals that year, and while Game 7 of the second round was a heartbreaking moment, it didn’t change the reality that Denver’s season was incredibly fun and enjoyable to that point.

(By the way, my favorite play from the above highlight reel is at the 6:40 mark when Jokic runs a DHO with Mason Plumlee and throws him a lob dunk for an And-1. CLASSIC.)

After that year, the burden of expectations began to creep in, and those “looking forward” moments began to translate to “how does this impact the team in the playoffs?” Sure, there were fun regular season moments in 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, but the vast majority of the fan base’s focus was on what happened at the end, rather than enjoying the greater picture. Nikola Jokic winning two MVP awards helped Nuggets fans focus a bit more on the present, but it was more about Jokic’s individual greatness than anything.

Then, the 2022-23 season happened, and it was perhaps the most extreme example of “That’s nice, but what happens in April and May?” Jokic had one of the greatest seasons in NBA history, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. returned from injury, Aaron Gordon was dynamic in his role, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown filled in the gaps. It was one of the greatest jigsaw puzzles ever assembled, and it eventually turned into an epic playoff run and a championship. Once the fan base figured out that this was the direction things were going, there was a lot more enjoyment of the moment; however, that season felt like walking on eggshells, hoping to avoid jinxing one of the (and maybe only) healthy seasons in this era of Nuggets basketball.

Now in 2023-24, one might think that the pressure has been removed from the Nuggets of “championship or bust.” To some degree, the pressure has lessened, but there remains a responsibility to maximize every single one of these years from Jokic, who’s on his way to winning a third MVP award. With Jokic playing at best player in the world levels, the Nuggets should be in serious competition for another ring, and they appear to have a great shot at this stage of the season.

Remember when I was talking about 54 regular season wins back in the 2018-19 season?

The Nuggets could accumulate their 54th win tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. Even if they don’t get it done, they have five other opportunities to match 2019’s win total. If the Nuggets go crazy and win five of their next six games, they will set the franchise record for NBA regular season wins (currently 57 from the 2012-13 season).

It’s an impressive achievement that hasn’t gotten a lot of run because of the championship caliber expectations, and I can share some fault in that. I’m often looking forward as mentioned above. This series is entirely geared toward winning a second championship. When we look back on this season years down the road, the final result of the final game will likely play a major part in the success of the year.

But that doesn’t mean the moments between don’t matter. Somebody somewhere once said it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

So let’s talk more about the journey for a bit.

Banner Night was incredible, one of the most emotional nights in franchise history. There’s only ever one opportunity to hang the first banner, and the Nuggets took advantage. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dominated, and the Nuggets took down the vaunted Los Angeles Lakers en route to “Who’s Your Daddy?” chants on the first night of the entire NBA season. Epic.

After that, it was a while before the Nuggets had their next impactful night, Game 18, and it happened without either Jokic or Murray. The Nuggets went to Los Angeles to face the Clippers (much like they’re doing tonight) with Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan. Jackson, I kid you not, had 35 points and 13 assists and was absolutely unstoppable against his former team. It was incredible to watch, and I wish I was there to witness the magic.

The list of players to accumulate 35 points and 13 assists in a game this season:

• Luka Doncic
• Trae Young
• Nikola Jokic
• Tyrese Haliburton
• Domantas Sabonis
• Damian Lillard
• Terry Rozier
• …and Reggie Jackson

Then, it was Game 36, Denver’s third matchup with the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets had won the first two, and Steve Kerr wasn’t exactly showing a lot of Christmas spirit when complaining about Nikola Jokic’s free throw calls the game before. The Nuggets were down 18 points midway through the fourth quarter and stormed all the way back with a shot to win it.

Jokic didn’t miss.

Then, it was Game 43, one of the most impactful wins of the season for the Nuggets, facing the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The Nuggets won that game behind strong defense and incredible efforts from Jokic and Jamal Murray, who officially developed his “good teams merchant” moniker after this night. Denver’s dynamic duo was as dynamic as ever, helping Denver defeat Boston for the first time in their own arena. The Celtics remain 33-3 at home this year, and the Nuggets managed one of those wins in maybe the most impactful night in the association all season.

Then, it was Game 52 against the Lakers on Kobe Bryant statue night. The Lakers unveiled their ode to the Black Mamba, and the Nuggets offered a tribute to the late Bryant by defeating the Lakers by eight points. The Lakers attempted 25 free throws to the Nuggets seven that night, but it didn’t matter. The Nuggets found a way to win led by Jokic, Murray, and an impressive scoring outburst from Michael Porter Jr. as the cherry on top.

Game 61 saw the Nuggets return to LA on the night of LeBron James’ night of crossing 40,000 points. James achieved the mark in the second quarter, and it really felt like the Lakers had an opportunity to finally beat Denver this time around. Then, Jokic, Murray, and Porter once again turned on the jets in crunch time, and the Lakers simply had no answer when the Nuggets flipped the switch. It was deja vu.

Finally on Game 63, the Nuggets and Celtics had their rematch, and the game went almost exactly the same way as it had in Boston. Jokic and Murray were (mostly) great, and the Nuggets found enough ways to execute in clutch time, at least more so than the Celtics were able to do. The Nuggets did it again, and the Celtics were left with more questions on how to match up with Denver if these teams ultimately meet in the NBA Finals.

The point of this entire exercise: there are times throughout the regular season that stick out as impactful for fans. Some fans latch on to big scoring margins. Others focus on the highlight plays. Still more look at the way Denver plays in the fourth quarter to win a close game. There are many more moments than the ones listed above, including some smaller ones that help make the season special: watching Jokic teach Victor Wembanyama the ropes; seeing Aaron Gordon go up for a clutch alley-oop; catching a Murray Flurry, a Porter Quarter, or a big time run from a young guy like Peyton Watson or Christian Braun.

Fans can, and should, enjoy the little things. Titles are never promised. The Nuggets have as good a chance as anyone this year, but whatever result happens in the playoffs doesn’t take away from this being quite possibly the best regular season in Nuggets franchise history. It’s not a surprise when the team is this good and this fun, and it’s something that should never be taken for granted.

The playoffs will arrive sooner than later. Until then, enjoy the final few games of the regular season.