JJ Reddick comes in defense of NBA Champions Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic after several criticisms regarding them

The Denver Nuggets have won the 2023 NBA Championship and they are not a ringless franchise anymore. They had to wait 47 years but finally, they have the much elusive Larry O’Brien Trophy. While people cannot troll them by saying trophyless organization, that does not mean there won’t be criticism against the Nuggets or their talisman Nikola Jokic.

Many experts have shared that the trophy won by the Nuggets have not impressed them as the franchise did not face a top team heading into the finals. Nikola Jokic and his men defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round followed by the Phoenix Suns in the second round and then by the Lakers. They faced Miami Heat in the finals.

While many people criticised them regarding their journey to their first-ever title, JJ Reddick was the one who defended the Nuggets. He was not going to take comments such as the Nuggets faced a lightweight team in the finals in the form of the Miami Heat.

Reddick explained how the teams contending for the title this season did not even get past the Heat, so it is their fault for underperforming on the big stage. “Guess what? Those teams weren’t good enough, 2 of them lost to the Heat and one of them couldn’t get past the Celtics,” JJ Reddick said in the Old Man and The Three podcast. “How is that a knock on [Nikola] Jokic?”

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix was not too impressed with the Denver Nuggets winning the NBA Championship. He felt that the road to the final was not challenging enough for the Nuggets as they did not face any elite team en route to the Championship.

However, it is unfortunate that the Nuggets did not face an elite team in the playoffs. But it is fault of those teams for failing to win their respective games. The Milwaukee Bucks got eliminated in the first round by the Heat, while the Philadelphia 76ers were thumped by the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were a game away from reaching the finals, but they were denied that chance by Jimmy Butler and his team.

At the end of the day, the Nuggets have dominated each and every team that they faced in the postseason and have rightfully won their first-ever NBA Championship. People can say a lot of things about them and Jokic but the fact will not change.