Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets Are Heavy Favorites To Win 1st NBA Championship

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are heavy favorites to win the franchise’s first NBA championship, but head coach Michael Malone isn’t taking Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat lightly.

The Heat are just the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals after the New York Knicks did it in 1999. Miami is 12-6 in the playoffs and knocked off the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 5 Knicks and the No. 2 Boston Celtics. They nearly surrendered a 3-0 lead to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals before a dominating 103-84 road victory in Game 7 Monday night.

The Nuggets are 4/1 favorites to win the title, per bookmaker.eu

Game 1 is Thursday night in Denver (8 p.m., ABC).

“You get to the NBA Finals, it’s not about seeding anymore,” Malone told reporters Tuesday.

“And for those that are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don’t even know what to say to you people,” Malone added. “This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives.

“It’s the NBA Finals, you’re trying to win the first NBA championship in franchise history, it’s going to be the hardest thing that we’ve ever done, which is the way it should be.”

Below are some odds on player to score the most points, assists, rebounds, and three point shots