Denver Nuggets: The defending champions will be once again led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and returning key players like Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun.Most of these teams are championship contenders this season, and this list includes Finals MVPs, Finals MVP runner-ups, and veteran cores that have stuck together because of the unwavering voice in their front office saying, “ who’s to say they can’t do it again?” Teams with Ring-Bearing Stars: Eight NBA teams are led by stars who already have at least one ring and are vying for another. But no one in this current group was a part of any of those runs.Īll 30 NBA teams can be divided into four categories: teams led by a ring-bearing star (8), teams with a ring-bearing role player (8), teams that simply have a ring-bearer on the roster (5), and teams who lack a ring-bearer altogether (9). It might be strange to point that out, especially considering the organization as a whole famously has 17 banners. Most teams have at least one of ‘that guy,’ but the Celtics don’t. “He knows what it takes and what we need to do. “He is the only one on this team who has won a championship,” then-teammate Bruce Brown told AP News during their playoff run. He brought his championship ring to every home playoff game in order to motivate his teammates, preached defense as though he was an extension of the coaching staff, and immediately gained the respect that only a champion garners. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope was a starter on the 2020 Lakers squad that won a ring in the bubble, and his championship experience proved invaluable in Denver. I call these “breakthrough” championship teams.Īt first glance, one might think the ‘23 Nuggets were a breakthrough championship team, but they weren’t. Since 2000, only three teams have managed to hoist the Larry O’Bryan trophy with no champion on the roster: the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, the 2015 Golden State Warriors, and the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks. Statistically speaking, that very fact makes winning it all unlikely. The Boston Celtics, as currently constructed, don’t have a single NBA champion on the roster. Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images It’s that much harder when literally no one in your locker room has done it before. The reality, however, is that it’s really, really difficult to break through and win an NBA championship for the first time. We could argue all day about the merits of those claims. Joe Mazzulla is a way-too-inexperienced head coach. Tatum and Brown have offensive games that are too redundant. They were favored to win almost every game they played, but, as we all know, fell short of the ultimate goal.Ī year later after digging themselves out of an 0-3 hole only to lose Game 7 at TD Garden to the Heat, the offseason discourse has centered around the team’s shortcomings: They had Finals experience, a veteran center, and a top-tier defensive big coming off the bench. Last season, the Celtics had an undeniably loaded roster: two scoring machines in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the 6th Man of the Year in Malcolm Brogdon, and two of the league’s premier defensive guards in Marcus Smart and Derrick White.
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