The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 championship against the Miami Heat in five games. Nikola Jokic won the Finals MVP Award and it appeared a dynasty would start in Denver.
However, not only did the Nuggets lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals in seven games, but Jokic and Co. also lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year's conference semifinals in seven games.
Jokic played 37 minutes against the Thunder on Sunday. The three-time MVP finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He was outrebounded by Aaron Gordon, who had 11 boards despite playing with a Grade 2 left hamstring injury.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic
Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
Gordon's injury was so serious that Jokic told the former Orlando Magic star not to play in Game 7 versus the Thunder.
“I told him not to play,” Jokic said after Game 7. "You can injure yourself even worse. You can see that he was struggling, hard to move, this and that. But he went out there to fight with us. We can just appreciate it.”
Gordon played 24 minutes in Game 7 despite his injury. He put up eight points and 11 rebounds.
Gordon wasn't even close to 100%, which played a big role in the Thunder's Game 7 victory.
"Gordon’s biggest contribution in this series has been his secondary ballhandling, which in the first six games of the series freed Jamal Murray and allowed him to run through screens off the ball," Tony Jones of The Athletic wrote.
"Gordon was able to get Denver into its offense, and it’s a reason the starting unit played so well for the majority of the series. His injury made that impossible Sunday, and that effectively killed the Nuggets offensively and allowed the Thunder to swarm Murray and Jokic."
The 29-year-old Gordon appeared in 51 games for Denver during the regular season. He averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks.
An Arizona product, Gordon has career averages of 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks with the Magic and Nuggets.