Nuggets fans will always be fighting an uphill battle for attention and respect from national NBA media. They’ll never be a glamour franchise like the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, or Warriors. They don’t have the history, the legacy, the global reach, or the market share.
They’ve had a warranted little-brother complex for years, since joining the league, battling just to achieve relevance. But that narrative has slowly but surely started to fade this century as the Nuggets have earned some validity as an organization.
It began with drafting Carmelo Anthony back in 2023. Denver started building legitimacy, making repeated playoff runs, including a Western Conference Finals run in 2009. The team kept building on that success even after Anthony left, eventually drafting Nikola Jokic and winning the first championship in franchise history in 2023.
This has given fans and supporters the credibility and visibility needed to craft agendas and fuel arguments with other fanbases. It’s a point of pride, and the fact that Denver cruised to that title, dominating the field and going 16-4 on their run to a title, only made it that much sweeter.
Michael Porter Jr. downplays Nuggets' title run
On Thursday, Michael Porter Jr. was asked what has changed from the 2023 title run and this season’s team, and he said the last thing that Denver fans wanted to hear. He explained that he believes the league has spread out and teams have gotten better.
He added, “That playoffs that we won that championship, there wasn’t that much of a struggle throughout the playoffs.” Whether intended or not, Porter Jr. is essentially implying that the Nuggets had an “easy” path to a championship in 2023 and didn’t face elite competition.
Michael Porter Jr. on what’s changed since the Nuggets won a title:
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) April 17, 2025
“I just think that the league has spread out so evenly. There’s so many good teams across the league.
“That playoffs that we won that championship, there wasn’t that much of a struggle throughout the playoffs.” pic.twitter.com/mm6Hrx7DVf
This is a narrative that anti-Jokic fans have used for years, relaying how the team never beat a 50-win team, they played a 7-seed in the conference finals, and an 8-seed in the finals. Obviously, a championship is a championship. But it feels like so much more is at stake and in play when it comes to history, legacy, and the lasting impact across the NBA.
Nuggets fans will be fighting this battle for years and arguing over Jokic’s greatness and the legacy of this era of Nuggets basketball. Fans will need to cling to every point and aspect of the debate they have, and unfortunately, MPJ admitting they faced an easy path and the league didn’t have any good teams is only hurting that argument.