For nearly all of the Denver Nuggets’ 47 years of existence in the NBA, the team has largely been off the national radar.

They’ve made no Finals appearances until this year, won just two postseason series between 1995 and 2018, and can claim only three Basketball Hall of Famers who played the bulk of their careers in Denver.

But with the arrival of star center Nikola Jokić and their rise to unprecedented competitive heights, the Nuggets are now poised for a series of meaningful business boosts.

The team entered the 2022-23 season with an estimated franchise value of $1.93 billion, 22nd in the league and similar to smaller-market franchises such as Oklahoma City, Indiana, and Charlotte. But a significant increase is likely for the Nuggets later this year, given the path traveled recently by other title-winning teams owned by Stan Kroenke.

After the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI early last year, their value rose from $4.8 billion to $6.2 billion, third-best in the league. Similarly, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche grew in value from $630 million in 2021 to $860 million after their 2022 Stanley Cup championship.

The Nuggets have reached capacity for full-season ticket sales for the 2023-24 season, a sales run not unlike that of the Avalanche this past season. This summer, the team will also hit the market for another jersey patch deal in a position of strength. The Nuggets’ three-year extension with financial services firm Western Union expires at the end of this season.

A Mile-High Boost

Meanwhile, the Denver Chamber of Commerce projects a $22 million infusion in the city’s downtown business due to the Nuggets’ Finals appearance.

The NBA Finals represent a missed opportunity for sportsbooks — which came close to a dream matchup of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

While Gambling.com Group vice president Max Bichsel estimates that several hundred million dollars will be wagered on the Miami Heat-Denver Nuggets series across regulated U.S. markets, he told Front Office Sports that the handle will likely be about half of a Lakers-Celtics series.

That doesn’t mean it’s trouble in paradise, though. “There’s a lot of futures action on the Lakers … so the sportsbooks should be doing well,” Bichsel said.

The Nuggets are the second-biggest favorites (-450) in the NBA finals in the last 16 years, outside the 2018 Golden State Warriors, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers as -1075 favorites. Sportsbooks in different markets may be rooting for a predictable finals and others for one of the biggest upsets in league history, according to Bichsel.

Florida doesn’t have legalized sports betting, but operators in Colorado — where it is allowed — may be flooded with Nuggets bets and actually prefer a Heat win. Others could be hurt by having to pay out to bettors who wagered on the Heat at +340.

One positive of a series in Colorado is the opportunity for sportsbooks to reach new clientele thanks to the hype of Denver’s first NBA Finals appearance.

“This is a chance for operators to acquire new customers in recreational customers that may not be avid sports bettors,” Bichsel said. “They may be novice [bettors], new to the industry.”

The NBA came tantalizingly close to the first Finals rematch in over a decade between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. 

While the 2023 clash between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat looks comparatively underwhelming, the NBA and media partner Disney still hope to extend their Finals audience growth to a third straight year.

After sinking to an all-time low of 7.45 million average viewers for the pandemic-adjusted Finals between the Lakers and Heat in 2020, Disney’s ABC boosted Finals ratings in both 2021 and 2022, reaching an average of 12.4 million viewers last year for Golden State’s six-game triumph over the Celtics.

With the clash of two-time league MVP Nikola Jokić and Heat star Jimmy Butler, the league and Disney are riding on a wave of ratings momentum from the record-setting Eastern Conference Finals and the early postseason.

“We have one of the truly great players in the history of the game [Jokić], who will be highlighted alongside of some historic talent that’s going to make an exciting NBA Finals,” said ESPN analyst Mark Jackson, who will be covering his 15th NBA Finals, setting a new record for a Black game analyst in any major major sports championship event.

Jackson’s broadcast partner Jeff Van Gundy pointed to a broader transition among NBA luminaries. Van Gundy recalled how LeBron James’ first Finals appearance in 2007, a four-game loss for Cleveland to San Antonio, drew what was at the time a record-low audience for the event, years before James became one of the sport’s leading draws.

“There’s great talent coming in,” Van Gundy said. “Fans appreciate great basketball. You have to let these guys grow into their stardom to become household names.”

Tickets for Game 1 of the NBA Finals are unsurprisingly much cheaper on the secondary market than last year’s series between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the average resale ticket price for Thursday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets at the latter’s Ball Arena is $1,288, according to SeatGeek data. That’s a 36% decrease from last year’s opening game, which had an average resale ticket price of $1,999 one day out.

A series between the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — who both lost in their respective conference finals — could have set new records for ticket prices. 

However, many are touting the quality of the Nuggets-Heat series for basketball savants, with the added attraction that Denver is looking for its first NBA title.

Pending the outcome of Game 1, which has a get-in price of about $700 and some courtside seats selling for $20,000-plus, the average price for Game 2 will likely fluctuate from its current value of $1,359, SeatGeek tells Front Office Sports.

The current average resale price for Games 3 and 4 in Miami are similar to the first two games in Denver, currently sitting at $1,365 and $1,277, respectively.

Denver fans haven’t seen the Nuggets play at home since May 18, when they went up 2-0 on the Lakers on the way to an eventual series sweep. The Heat, meanwhile, are fresh off their seven-game series with the Celtics, which ended Monday night in Boston.