2023 NBA Finals

2023 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Denver Nuggets Michael Malone 4
Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra 1
DatesJune 1–12
MVPNikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets)
Eastern finalsHeat defeated Celtics, 4–3
Western finalsNuggets defeated Lakers, 4–0
← 2022 NBA Finals 2024 →

The 2023 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2022–23 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven playoffs was played between the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat and the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets. The series started on June 1, and concluded on June 12.[1]

The Nuggets defeated the Heat in five games, winning their first championship in franchise history after 47 seasons in the NBA, and becoming the second former ABA team to win an NBA title, joining the San Antonio Spurs. Denver's Nikola Jokić was unanimously voted the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP),[2][3][4] after averaging 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.4 blocks while shooting 58.3% from the field and 42.1% from the 3-point line.[5] Jokić is the lowest-selected player to ever win Finals MVP, being the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft.[6] This marked the first NBA Finals appearance for Denver. This was also the second Finals to feature a No. 8 seed, along with the 1999 NBA Finals.[7] This is the first finals since the 2018 NBA Finals to not go to 6 games.

  1. ^ "NBA playoffs 2023: Schedule, news, highlights, scores, more". ESPN. April 30, 2023. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Nikola Jokic earns 2023 Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 13, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  3. ^ Vardon, Joe (June 13, 2023). "Nuggets' Nikola Jokić wins NBA Finals MVP". The Athletic. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  4. ^ KIdane, Benyam (June 13, 2023). "Who won NBA Finals MVP? Full voting results for Nuggets' Nikola Jokic over Jamal Murray in 2023". Sporting News. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Baer, Jack (June 15, 2023). "Nikola Jokić recovered 'lost' NBA Finals MVP trophy before championship parade". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Jarpe, Samantha (June 13, 2023). "Nikola Jokic is by far the lowest draft pick to win finals MVP". KDVR. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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