Following the Nuggets’ first-ever NBA championship, Denver star Nikola Jokić’s gave his perspective on the team’s title, and the adversity it took to reach the mountain top.
The Nuggets had been contending in the West for a number of years now, but injuries and disappointing playoff losses set them back from reaching their end goal of an NBA championship.
In 2022–23, Denver was the best team in basketball all season, and backed it up with a dominant postseason en route to a championship.
Jokić reflected on the journey and what it took to finally reach the end goal.
“If you want to be successful, you need a couple years,” he began. “You need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when you’re good, you need to fail. Then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out. Experience isn’t about what happened to you, it’s about what you’re going to do about what happened to you. Yes, Jamal [Murray] was injured. Yes, we lose in the first round or second round … but there is a process …there’s steps you need to fulfill. There is no shortcuts, it’s a journey and I’m glad I’m part of the journey.”
Buy now: Sports Illustrated's Denver Nuggets Commemorative Issue!
The humility of Jokić, a two-time league MVP and now a Finals MVP, has been eye-opening in Denver’s run, and NBA fans loved the star’s latest sound bite.
Exactly what Giannis was trying to convey with his “No failure, only success or learning” comment. It’s just that people give a lot more slack with those kinds of sentiments when winning a title vs. losing in the first round as a 1 seed - even after winning a title earlier. https://t.co/T8FtfFKwIQ
— Jonathan Wagner (@JonathanJWagner) June 14, 2023
Every player is going to fail and hit adversity at some point. In RECRUITING you find the player that will hit adversity and keep going! A team full of those guys and you’ve got yourself a championship type team. https://t.co/AmmGwvZ6FC
— Chris Johns (@ChrisJohns7) June 14, 2023
The joys of victory are sweet, meaningful and fulfilling after you’ve endured your fair share of losses (learning). I remember my time in Fiji 7s 2007-2013 turbulent inconsistencies, then 2014-2021 a successful era. Process in turning losses into learning the art of winning. https://t.co/ooxvCESlBF
— Naca Cawanibuka (@cawnac_naca) June 14, 2023
Nikola’s life lesson! So important for young athletes to hear this #lifelessons #jokic #sports https://t.co/PMjED2hIYs
— Maja McBride (@MajaMcbride) June 14, 2023
This is it. Failure is SO important. It's an integral part of the process--not something to defeat you. As my history sister @kinghistorycchs pointed out, failing is part of learning to be a good teacher. Good advice for athletes AND teachers. 👇 https://t.co/w1cNUpj6a3
— Sara Ziemnik (@sziemnik2198) June 14, 2023
