IN THE DENVER FINALS PARTY Locker Room: Nuggets star Jamal Murray is shoved into a POOL by Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, players smoke cigars, dance to Kanye West and get drenched in champagne as they toast to first NBA title EVER
The first-ever Denver Nuggets championship squad partied late into the night in the Mile High town as players were doused in champagne, drank fancy cigars and took turns dipping each other in the team pool.
Mike Malone’s team settled things to close out their first-ever NBA Finals in Game 5 against the Miami Heat to clinch the franchise’s first title.
The Nuggets, who were the No. 1 seed in the West this season, kept their nerve after dropping the last game – Game 2 – at home and there was celebration in the locker room after the final buzzer.
Star couple Nikola Jokic – who won Finals MVP – and Jamal Murray wrestled poolside as the Serbian center dunked his teammate in the water.
For others, it was their moment to spray champagne on teammates and staff and Coach Malone stood front and center with his ski goggles on to drench his stars as reporters also got soaked.
Players danced and sang along with Jay-Z and Kanye West before kids and family members soon descended into the locker room to join the party.
Murray took it upon himself to get a firm grip on the Larry O’Brien trophy and he refused to let it out of his hands after Commissioner Adam Silver presented it.
It’s been a long road from damage to prosperity for Murray and he made an emotional figure after winning his first championship ring.
Team owner Stan Kroenke, who always owns Arsenal FC, showed up in the locker room wearing a blue blazer and an NBA Champions snapback.
It is the newest championship in the Kroenke stable, contributing to the LA Rams’ Super Bowl victory in 2022, the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 and its National Lacrosse League team, the Colorado Mammoth, who won their championship that same year.
While Denver now has the first stake in the business, Coach Malone is eager to push this group to a dynasty.
“I have news for everyone out there. We are not satisfied with one of them,” said coach Malone. “We want more.”
He added: “We’ve accomplished something this franchise has never done before, but we’ve got 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 are on the biggest stage in the world.’
Teammates were eager to mark this moment for two-time MVP and now Finals MVP Jokic, despite his reluctance to step into the limelight.
Jokic re-entered the locker room at 11:34 PM with his daughter in one arm and the Finals MVP trophy in the other.
Cheering teammates chanted “MVP” at him as he continued, while also wildly spraying champagne over the crowd he navigated through.
Players wore custom NBA Champions t-shirts, while others wore the same snapback cap owner Kroenke wore.
Reporters continued to hear chants of “dynasty begins now” as players celebrated together into the early hours.