Organic growth owners' secret to success for Denver Nuggets

Jun. 14—The game on April 11, 2018 didn't go Denver's way, but Josh Kroenke saw the seeds of something special.

The Nuggets missed out on the playoffs for the third straight year to start Michael Malone's Denver tenure after losing to the Timberwolves, 112-106, in overtime of the final game of the 2017-18 regular season. Coaches have been fired for less, but the Nuggets' governor saw enough of a spark to stick with his coach and his young core despite the disappointment.

"To see those two young players in particular — it was Jamal and Nikola in that Game 82 — they made every play down the stretch. You saw they wanted the moment most importantly," Kroenke said Monday in the Nuggets' champagne-soaked locker room. "Wanting that moment is a big part about eventually getting there. Now, you see how bad those guys really wanted that moment."

Nikola Jokic, who was 23 at the time, scored a game-high 35 points on 25 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jamal Murray, then 21, added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in the finale of his second NBA season. Five years later, Jokic is one of 11 players in NBA history who have won multiple Most Valuable Player awards and Finals MVP. Murray's path required a bit more patience. After starring in Denver's run to the 2020 Western Conference finals, Murray missed the next two playoff runs due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament which came just as the Nuggets were looking like a championship contender. Malone tells a story about Murray wondering if the team would trade him in the wake of his ill-timed injury. That's not how the Nuggets want to operate.

"When I set out to kind of figure out, map out how we might actually win a championship in Denver, I had to really think about how that was going to get done. I thought it was going to be through organic growth and continuity," Kroenke said. "I had just dealt with the Carmelo Anthony situation, a superstar that didn't want to be here, and so, we all needed to figure out a way to have a team that had the most talent possible but (also) guys that loved the city of Denver. I think that we've drafted, we've developed. We've been patient over time. Coach Malone's been a big part of that. Since 2015, he's been with this group. That's how our continuity really started to show this year when Jamal came back, because these guys all know how to play. They all have high basketball IQs, and they play for one another. That was on full display."

Monday's win marked the third straight year the Kroenke family celebrated a championship in one of the big four sports leagues. Last year, the Colorado Avalanche won the franchise's third Stanley Cup by going 16-4 throughout the playoffs, the same record the Nuggets had this postseason.

"That doesn't happen very often," Kroenke said.

The year before, the Los Angeles Rams were Super Bowl champions after beating the Bengals. Rams coach Sean McVay gave the Nuggets and their owners a shoutout in a video shared on social media Tuesday.

"It was fun to watch them," McVay said. "It was pretty cool, because I remember being there a couple of years ago when they lost to the Suns, being the in the locker room with them afterwards and just watching the way that they just kind of stayed to the course, the patience and leadership by the Kroenkes. It was awesome to be able to see. What else can you say? It's really impressive when you look at Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, winning an NBA title ... pretty damn good owners right there."

Malone sees the Kroenkes similarly.

"Our ownership group has been phenomenal throughout this entire process. Eight years is a long time, and (I'm) very thankful, as I've said many times, in allowing this to get to this point and win a championship," Malone said.

"Stan and Josh are great owners. They allow us to do our job. I'm just thankful that we were able to add to that."

When asked about the family's secret to success as owners, Kroenke said the plan is to hire good people, give those good people the necessary resources and support to be successful and get out of the way. The Kroenkes could have gotten in the way over the course of the last eight years but patience prevailed.

"I made some tough decisions a long time ago to try to put us on a different track. A lot of people didn't quite understand what I was trying to do. It wasn't a smooth ride," Kroenke admitted. "Progress isn't necessarily linear, but I saw certain flashes along the way, and we kept tweaking it, tweaking it and tweaking it, preserved through injuries and here we are with a very special group that I think the city absolutely loves."

A little more than five years after the seeds of success sprouted on the court in Minnesota, the Nuggets blossomed into champions. There are now championship roots, and the hope is the growth has just begun.

"We came about this very organically, and we grew this thing from scratch. I always said, 'When we (got) here, we wanted to be here to stay for a little while and be in the conversation.' That's all you can (do), put yourself in the conversation, then the players and coaches have to take over," Kroenke said. "I think this team is going to be in the championship conversation for quite some time."

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment's run of champions

2023: Denver Nuggets, NBA champions

2022: Colorado Avalanche, NHL champions

2022: Colorado Mammoth, NLL champions

2021: Los Angeles Rams, NFL champions