LOS ANGELES — It’s the trophy a basketball nerd who grew up to be a billionaire wants the most. And it’s the job of Nuggets coach Michael Malone to turn the impossible dream of Stan Kroenke into reality, before the boss decides there’s a smarter way to spend his money.
If that’s not pressure on a coach blessed with a generational talent named Nikola Jokic, what is?
“I joke with Stan and Josh Kroenke. I see the Rams win the Super Bowl, the Avs win the Stanley Cup and the teams they own win championships. And I tell them: ‘Here with the Nuggets, we have to do our part,’ ” Malone told me late Saturday night, after 37 points by guard Jamal Murray led Denver to a 119-108 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, pushing the Nuggets to within one victory of their first NBA Finals berth in franchise history.
“I know one thing: Stan loves all of his teams. But he’s a basketball fan at heart. And I know Josh is a basketball fan at heart. So I know how much this means to them.”
Prior to Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, a 75-year-old sports mogul stood on the court near the visitors bench. Wearing a finely tailored sport coat worthy of a guy whose estimated net worth is just shy of $13 billion, Kroenke took in the scene as Eddie Murphy and all the beautiful Hollywood people filed into Crypto.com Arena.
Way back in 2001, not long after he purchased the NBA and NHL franchises in Colorado, Kroenke told me how he grew up in a tiny Midwest village, fantasizing about playing hoops for the University of Missouri Tigers, only to be jolted back to reality by the frayed athletic socks and scuffed sneakers that served as a reminder of how much work would be required to make anything of himself in this world.
“Basketball has a special place in my heart,” Kroenke said, while we watched the NBA All-Star Game together in Washington, D.C., more than two decades ago.
His hoop dream as a child was to swish a game-winning shot on television against the Boston Celtics, which he imagined could be as sweet as “dying and going to heaven.” After purchasing the Nuggets all those years ago, Kroenke told me his goal was to witness the NBA Finals in Denver. “Wouldn’t that be something?” he said.
Although he helped build the Walmart retail empire, and owns ranches and marquee sports franchises from Los Angeles to London, I’ve watched Stan blush and lower his eyes to hide his paternal pride when complimenting him on the achievements of his only son, Josh. I first met Josh 22 years ago, when he lived one of his old man’s dreams as a reserve guard for the Missouri Tigers, averaging 2.6 points over the course of 122 college games.
While there’s reason to believe the Nuggets should be a championship contender as long as Jokic, 28 years old and at the height of his basketball powers, can perform at a MVP level, there’s also evidence to suggest Denver will never have a better shot to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy than right here, right now.
With LeBron James showing signs of age, the Golden State Warriors bickering and no true super team to dominate the league, this might well be the most wide-open the NBA tourney has been in over 40 years. Are the Nuggets ready for their close-up?
While I hate to give the doubters any reason to arch a skeptical eyebrow and reach for an asterisk, consider this: In the Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers, plus the potential of facing the Heat at the Finals, Denver could beat teams seeded eighth, fourth, seventh and eighth in their respective conferences to win the championship.
While Kroenke isn’t afraid to pay for excellence, he demands results, and with the Nuggets pushed into the luxury tax for the first time since 2010, anything less than a championship will require general manager Calvin Booth to not only do some explaining to the boss, but perhaps do some nip and tucks on the player payroll.
There are die-hard fans in Colorado who have seen the Nuggets have their aspirations denied in the playoffs so many times they believe a championship is not meant to be.
But look at the gritty little basketball team from our dusty old cowtown now: 11 victories down, five to go to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“I’ve never looked at the history of the Nuggets as a weight or a burden. I’ve looked at it as an opportunity to be the first team to win a championship,” Malone said.
“It’s never been about the pressure. This is an exciting chance to do something nobody in Denver Nuggets history has ever done. I want to write history. That’s what I want to do.”
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