Denver Nuggets Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy Presentation 🏆

Now at center court for the presentation of the Larry O'Brien Trophy and the 2023 Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, here's ABC's Lisa Salters. Thank you. Denver Nuggets Chairman Stan Kroenke and Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke here to present the Larry O'Brien Trophy to the Denver Nuggets NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Thank you Lisa and to the Miami Heat, congratulations, our Eastern Conference Champion. What an incredible game we saw tonight. Stan and Josh Kroenke, Calvin Booth, Michael Malone, what a fantastic job you've done. 47 years for the Denver Nuggets. Congratulations, NBA Champions. And now, the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Mr. Kroenke, like the Commissioner said, the drought is over. What does this trophy mean to this city? Unbelievable. The fans in this town are unbelievable as you can see Lisa, unbelievable. And so it means a lot to us to be able to get this done and the fans, we couldn't have done it without them. So, fantastic. Congratulations to the coach, the players, the whole organization, but you've got to love that city. I want to ask you about your superstar. You've recently said that Nikola Jokic is the most amazing thing you've ever seen in basketball. Why do you say that? Well, because I watched Jokic early and he'd come in and work out and I think he's been described as a chubby teenager. But no one really, they underestimated his resolve and his work ethic. He's an unbelievable player. And so, we're just happy to be participating. I mean, I watched a lot of basketball, I played a lot of basketball, but Jokic's an unbelievable, amazing player. And we've got a bunch of them. Thank you, sir. Congratulations. Coach, come on over here. Coach Malone, you've been around basketball your entire life. Does that trophy make it all worth it? First off, a huge shout out to Nuggets Nation. We love you guys. We love you guys. Best fans in the world. All the hard work, all the sacrifice, all the dedication, all culminated with us winning the championship. But I got news for everybody out there. We're not satisfied we won. We want more. But his historic performance in these playoffs, just you talk about him. What does it say about your superstar? Well, Nikola Jokic is a great person. He's a great husband, father, and son, and brother. And on the basketball court, he's proven time and time again that he's the best player in the NBA. He's our MVP. We love him and we're thankful that he's wearing a Nuggets uniform. Thank you, Coach. Congratulations. Now let's bring back Commissioner Silver to present the 2023 Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. This is the first Finals MVP trophy that we're giving out since Bill Russell's passing. And he'd be incredibly pleased. It's another center. This year's Bill Russell Finals MVP goes to Nikola Jokic. Nikola, you've said that you never envisioned any of this for yourself. Being an all-star, a two-time MVP, and now a Finals MVP. But what does it mean to you to now just to be a champion, to be able to celebrate with your family? You know, Adri said one really good thing. We are not winning for ourselves. We are winning for the guy next to us. And that's why this is even more because I was winning for Jamal, Jamal was winning for Adrian. That's how it goes, you know. This is a great group of people, a great group of teammates. Like I said, from the family, Kroenke, to Sparky and Gene, everything this year was amazing. What are you most proud of about this team? You know, we believe in each other, the relationship that we have. Yes, trophies and something, but I think we had some relationship that is going to be long, long, even after we finish careers. Thank you, Nikola. Congratulations. I want to talk to your teammate, Jamal. Jamal, just two years ago this time, you were barely able to walk, but you vowed to come back. It's just an amazing feeling, you know. I'm sweating tears to get back to this point. Everybody on my team in here, everybody on the floor believe in me, believe in me to get back to myself. I know we proved a lot of doubters wrong and I appreciate it. You said that had you not gotten hurt, you think you guys would have been here sooner than this. Was it worth the wait? Oh, yeah. I mean, I learned a lot by myself just being up for two postseasons. Just grinding, you know, having so many things going through my head. Watching my team, you know, go through the ups and downs. Just to see us healthy, know what we can do. We had the belief from the get-go. You guys had the belief from the get-go. It's full circle, so it's just great to see it through. My dad right there, he believed from the start. He got me to where I am today. It's just a blessing, you know. It's not me. It's God willing, so I appreciate him giving me the strength. Thank you, Jamal. I want to talk to one more thing. It was an up-and-down series. What makes this championship so special? You gave everything tonight. What makes this championship so special? To do it with these group of guys, it's nothing like it. You know, this organization believed in me. And just to, for five long, hard years, you know, to finally do it with this group of guys, nothing could feel better than this. Can you describe what this series was like for you? Coach Filone said it. He said, we're going to need Michael Porter Jr. to win this championship. Knowing that you had that belief and that confidence, what did that mean to you? It's my teammates. I was struggling all series, but these dudes, they never let me get down on myself. They keep me confident, and that's what we do with each other. We're a team. We're all happy for each other, and I can't say enough about these teammates. They're the best teammates I've ever had. Congratulations. You're a champion. And congratulations once again to the 2023 NBA Champion Denver Nuggets and Finals MVP, Michael Porter Jr.