So, Nikola Jokic, how does it feel to win your first NBA ring?
βItβs good, itβs good. The job is done now. We can go home now.β Those were Jokic's words in his interview immediately after the Game 5 whistle sounded on Monday, which officially stamped the Denver Nuggets as 2023 NBA Finals champions.
Denver topped the Miami Heat 4-1 in the best-of-seven series, with Game 5 being a nerve-wracking 94-89 finish that the Nuggets needed to fight until the 10-second mark of the fourth quarter to certify their dominant postseason performance.
The top-seeded Nuggets bested the No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves, No. 4 Phoenix Suns and No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference before handling the eighth-seeded Heat, with Jokic and Jamal Murray, among others, steering the ship in commanding fashion.
Jokic, specifically, became the first ever player in NBA postseason history to lead all players in points, rebounds and assists. Not bad for someone who was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial.
Here's how social media reacted to Jokic, Murray and the Nuggets' historic Finals win as they secured their first title in their 47-year franchise history:
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While the Nuggets were on the right side of the praise, fans didn't forget the incredible run the Heat had to become the second ever No. 8 seed to reach the Finals. Miami received its flowers, too: