Butler, Jokic lead Heat, Nuggets into a NBA Finals after unconventional paths
Nikola Jokic wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter.
Jokic was drafted behind 40 other players in 2014. Butler was drafted behind 29 others in 2011. Jokic grew up in Serbia, not even thinking about the NBA. Butler didn’t have the easiest upbringing in Texas, then went the junior college route at the start of his journey toward the pros.
Yet here they are in the NBA Finals. One of them will become a champion for the first time, with Jokic leading the Denver Nuggets and Butler leading the Miami Heat in a matchup that starts Thursday night in Denver, with the Nuggets heavily favored to win it all.
“This is going to be the hardest game of our life, and we know that,” Jokic said. “We are prepared for that. We are prepared for that. So, I think there is no favorite. Definitely, I think we are not favorites in this series. I think they’re not either. I think it’s just the finals.”
The Nuggets — in the finals for the first time — had by far the easier road to the title round. They climbed atop the Western Conference standings in midDecember and never fell from that perch, then lived up to that No. 1 seed by going 12-3 in the West playoffs.
Miami — a seven-time finalist now, seeking a fourth title — had about the rockiest path to the Rocky Mountains that a team could have. The Heat had to rally in a play-in elimination game just to make the playoffs, knocked out No. 1 overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1, rival New York in Round 2 and then just had to go win a Game 7 in Boston, after nearly wasting a 3-0 lead, to vanquish last season’s loss to the Celtics in the East finals.
At 44-38 this season, Miami would tie the worst regular-season record ever by an NBA champion. The Washington Bullets had that record and won the 1978 title. There were 10 teams that finished this season with better records than Miami — nine of them are no longer playing — and 589 teams in NBA history that had better regular seasons than the 2022-23 Heat yet still didn’t win a title.
They are improbable finalists. Their leader took an improbable path, too. But after stints with Chicago, Philadelphia and Minnesota didn’t always go as planned, Butler is now in the finals with Miami for a second time in four years.
Extra points
OKC DODGERS: The Oklahoma City Dodgers pitching staff retired the final 19 batters of the game and the offense scored five runs in the fourth inning of a 7-0 shutout win against the Reno Aces on Tuesday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.