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Sports Columnists | Kiszla: Nuggets’ championship was born way back…
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Kiszla: Nuggets’ championship was born way back in 2016 with a crazy idea: Nikola Jokic could be better than Larry Bird.

In a blind stat comparison nearly seven years ago, a struggling NBA team compared two players at an early point in their pro careers. “You could clearly see that Player B was better than Player A,” Nuggets president Josh Kroenke recalled. “Player B was Nikola Jokic. Player A was Larry Bird.”

Danilo Gallinari (8) of the Denver Nuggets rubs the head of Nikola Jokic (15) after he walks off the court for a timeout during the second half of the Nuggets' 112-93 win. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Toronto Raptors at the Pepsi Center on Monday, Feb. 1, 2015. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Danilo Gallinari (8) of the Denver Nuggets rubs the head of Nikola Jokic (15) after he walks off the court for a timeout during the second half of the Nuggets’ 112-93 win. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Toronto Raptors at the Pepsi Center on Monday, Feb. 1, 2015. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Mark Kiszla - Staff portraits at ...
By | mkiszla@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...
As the Nuggets get ready to parade the shiny gold Larry O’Brien trophy through downtown, I’m here to tell you that maybe the most momentous date in team history is Dec. 12, 2016, when a struggling team searching for answers got blown out by 30 on the road against the Mavericks.
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