Once upon a time, housing two or three superstars and a few key role players was a reliable recipe for winning an NBA title. But obviously, things have changed.
This year’s NBA finalists, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, have uncovered a new formula, reliant on shooting, depth, scoring in transition, and cheap contracts. While the Denver Nuggets faltered in the playoffs due to a lack of depth, there is a past Nuggets team that potentially could’ve thrived in the current state of the NBA.
A blast from the past
If depth was the Nuggets' biggest weakness this season, it might’ve been the 2012-2013 team's biggest strength. Real Nuggets fans will have no problem remembering the group that won 57 games in maybe the most entertaining regular season in franchise history.
While they didn’t have a player as good as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton on their roster, it’s interesting to wonder if those George Karl-coached Nuggets might have played in the wrong era. Truth be told, there are a lot of similarities between those run-and-gun Nuggets and the two teams left duking it out for this year’s NBA championship.
The Pacers are unselfish, share the ball, and don’t have a dominant scorer. The Thunder are young, love to get out in transition, and go ten guys deep. The 2012-2013 Nuggets had all of the above.
While they didn't have a true star on the roster, most of the guys in their rotation were B+ to B- players. Andre Igudala, Ty Lawson, and Danilo Gallinari were all fringe All-Stars. Really good players, but never elite. The young duo of Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGhee gave Denver an athletic front line and two ferocious lob threats.
Their real strength was their bench. Andre Miller brought veteran prowess, clutch play-making, and was a sensational passer. Wilson Chandler and Corey Brewer were rock-solid options. McGhee could be a wildcard, but he had his moments. A group void of elite individual talent at one point reeled off 15 straight regular-season wins, and also led the NBA in scoring per game. Not too shabby.
While Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are probably better than everyone on that roster, it would be interesting to see current-day Nikola Jokic play with that team as his supporting cast. He’d have less star power up front, but more guys who can create off the dribble, play with in transition, and there'd be less to worry about when he has to rest.
How would those 2012-2013 Nuggets do in today’s NBA?
The 2012-2013 Nuggets get forgotten historically, mainly because they flamed out in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Part of it was bad injury luck. The Nuggets lost Danilo Gallinari to an ACL tear, which was a massive blow.
They also got a really bad matchup against an up-and-coming Warriors team, and they had no one to match up with young Steph Curry. Still, I believe there is a world where, if healthy and had a different matchup, they could’ve made a much bigger dent in that year's postseason.
It’s interesting to wonder how those Nuggets would’ve done in today’s NBA. One reason they could’ve struggled is shooting. It’s a bit unfair to compare because the league was so different 13 years ago, but that Nuggets team only attempted 18.5 three-pointers a game.
However, if we could transport them to today’s NBA in a time machine and candidly explain the importance of three-point volume, they would have a puncher's chance at adapting, because they did have a few capable shooters.
While it was never the speedy guard's main weapon, Lawson had games where he could catch fire from three. Gallinari and Evan Fournier were all pretty good shooters themselves, and if the Martians had the death beam pointed at Earth, and you needed a guy to hit a three to save Earth? Well, the Nuggets had Iguodala to take the shot.
If we're being realistic, that team probably couldn't win a championship in today's league since the talent pool in today's NBA is just so much deeper. Still, that squad had some major pluses. For one, they didn't have many bad contracts, even if you adjust for the inflation in salaries since 2012-2013.
We all know how important it is not to be stuck with a guy making too much money, especially in the modern NBA, where every owner strives to avoid the second apron. That team had a bunch of guys who could play and were getting paid very little. Lawson and Faried were still on rookie contracts, and their only somewhat expensive player at the time was a prime Andre Iguodala.
It's fun to look down memory lane at a team that was athletic as hell, could get out in transition, and could throw out a ton of different options if someone was hurt. Those guys had a ton of fun playing together, too.
The 2012-2013 Nuggets lacked an elite main option to be real contenders, but they had the depth and roster flexibility that the current Nuggets lack. While ruminating about the possibility of combining that team with 2025 Nikola Jokic isn’t realistic, it’s a pretty fun hypothetical.