The Denver Nuggets capped off a dominating playoff run on Monday night, winning their first NBA Finals with a 4-1 series victory over the Miami Heat.
For Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, it’s the fifth championship won by a team he owns since the beginning of 2022.
The Colorado Avalanche won last year’s Stanley Cup after the Los Angeles Rams claimed victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Kroenke’s Colorado Mammoth won the 2022 National Lacrosse League Cup and one of his esports teams, the Los Angeles Guerrillas, took home a title in the Call of Duty League last year as well.
The NBA title also marks a seminal moment for Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, who won back-to-back MVP awards in 2021 and 2022, and now adds a championship ring and Finals MVP to his long list of accolades since entering the league in 2014.
Whether the 28-year-old Serbian has received proper recognition for his play in recent years was a hot topic among media pundits throughout the playoffs.
The Nuggets win ends a Cinderella run of sorts for the Heat, who became the first eighth-seed and play-in tournament team to advance to the Finals.
The NBA moves into the offseason set to welcome another international superstar in Victor Wembanyama, the French teenager that has already energized the San Antonio Spurs fan base after the franchise won the NBA Draft lottery.
