Denver Nuggets’ Michael Malone Says ‘We Want More’ After Team’s First NBA Championship

The Denver Nuggets have captured their first NBA title in the 56-year history of the franchise. Yet while coach Michael Malone accepted the championship trophy, he made a bold call in eyeing another.

"I've got news for everybody out there," Malone said Monday night. "We're not satisfied we won. We want more. We want more!"

Hardly ever does a title winner, let alone a first-time winner, accept one trophy while talking about the next. Denver opened as a +500 favorite to win the title next year, per BetMGM, and Malone knows he has a nucleus to work with. Big man Nikola Jokic was named Most Valuable Player after the two-time league MVP posted 28 points and 16 rebounds in the finale and became the first player in NBA history to lead a postseason in total points, rebounds and assists. He also becomes the lowest-drafted player (41st in the second round in 2014) to win the Finals MVP. He's only 28.

Star point guard Jamal Murray is only 26, Aaron Gordon is just 27, and Michael Porter Jr. is 24. All are locked into contracts through at least 2024-25, and Jokic is signed through 2028.

“We’re not satisfied,” Malone said. “We accomplished something this franchise has never done before, but we have a lot of young talented players in that locker room, and I think we just showed through 16 playoff wins what we’re capable of on the biggest stage in the world."

“We talk about the evolution in this game,” he said later. “You go from a nobody to an upstart. You go from an upstart to a winner. From a winner to a contender. And from a contender to a champion. The last step after a champion is to be a dynasty.”

It was never really in doubt. Denver rolled through the postseason with a 16-4 record and 10-1 mark at home. Jokic combined with Murray, who tallied double-digit assists in all five NBA Finals games, to block Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat’s chances at a title. Murray averaged 21.4 points per game, along with 10 assists and 38.7% shooting from deep.

For Denver, it hasn't been just the Jokic-Murray show. Contributions from players like versatile forwards Gordon and Bruce Brown carried the Nuggets to their Game 4 victory, in which Gordon went for 27 points along with his stellar defense against Butler. “He won us the game today,” Jokic said of Gordon after Game 4. There was also Porter Jr. (9.6 points per game in the Finals) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (7.4 ppg).

To get here, Malone, the eighth-year head coach, guided them to a 52-29 regular-season record and past the Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers and Heat. Murray is the biggest question mark with two years remaining on his contract, but that gives Malone and Co. time to make another run before key personnel decisions are made.

“I feel really fortunate that our journey has been one of patience, one of drafting really well and developing those players, and then adding the right pieces around them,” Malone said. “Everybody does it differently. Some teams want to mortgage their future and go get the surefire player.

"For us, there’s never been a rushed mentality. That starts with ownership. The Kroenke family has been phenomenal since day one allowing this thing to play itself out and not over-reacting to bumps in the road. I think more teams will try to make this a blueprint.”