Rise in parity continues with Nuggets-Heat Finals matchup

DENVER – There’s added meaning to what’s at stake in the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat.

Every spring, by the end of this ultimate best-of-seven final round, we get a new champion. But this year, once again, we’ll get a new new champion. No repeat, never mind any three-peat.

If Miami pulls off the improbable and wins the title as a No. 8 seed, it will be that team’s first championship in nine years. If the favored Nuggets win, it will be that franchise’s first-ever, dating back to their roots in the ABA in the 1960s and ’70s, when they initially were known as the “Rockets” and were hoisting a red-white-and-blue basketball from what seemed to be outrageous distances.

Most of all, no matter which of the two raises the Larry O’Brien trophy in the coming days, the NBA will celebrate its fifth different champion in as many seasons. That’s a variety pack not seen since the mid-to-late 70s.

Starting with the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 title, annual bragging rights have gone to the Lakers in the Orlando bubble in 2020, the Bucks in 2021, the Warriors last year and either the Nuggets or the Heat this time. If you rewind a bit further, the NBA is assured to have its seventh different champion in 10 years and, if Denver prevails, its eighth in 11.

This is a dramatic departure from much of the league’s history. Overall, a full 69% of the NBA’s championships – 52 of them – have been won by just five franchises: Boston 17, L.A. Lakers 17, Golden State 7, Chicago 6 and San Antonio 5. Add the Pistons, the Sixers and the Heat with three each and it’s up to eight teams with 61 titles (81%).

Houston, New York and Milwaukee each has won twice, with eight more enjoying a lone title. Eleven NBA teams never have ended their seasons wet-vacuuming champagne out of their locker room rugs.

Right about now, you should be hearing echoes of NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s voice – “competitive balance” – from so many of his All-Star and Board of Governors news conferences in his first few years of at the helm. Remember, Silver took over from predecessor David Stern not long after the 2011 lockout, which came on the heels of LeBron James’ move to Miami to form the “Super Friends” juggernaut with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That crew went to four consecutive Finals and won twice. Then James went home to Cleveland and took the Cavaliers to the next four Finals.

For fans in a bevy of cities, those were demoralizing times. They sensed their favorite teams wouldn’t spend enough to keep up with a few elite, deep-pocketed organizations or weren’t located in what many star players considered desirable destinations.

Then there was free agency in 2016, when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City to jump on board Golden State’s Finals bandwagon, the Warriors having won in 2015 and returning to get edged by James’ Cavs that spring.

“I’ve read several stories suggesting that that’s something that the league wants, this notion of two super-teams, that it’s a huge television attraction,” Silver said after a BOG meeting at the 2016 Las Vegas Summer League. “I don’t think it’s good for the league, just to be really clear. I will say whoever is the prohibitive favorite, try telling that to the 430 other players who aren’t on those two teams.

“I think it is critically important that fans in every market have that belief that if their team is well-managed that they can compete.”

At least that is what’s suggested by these recent one-and-done champs. And the apparent parity was taken to an extreme this season. No team reached 60 victories, a rarity unto itself, but six won between 51 and 58 games. Had the Bulls and the Thunder each flipped one of their losses into wins, 20 of the league’s 30 teams would have finished .500 or better.

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, 26 teams still had a shot at grabbing a playoff berth.

Some of this was happenstance, but much of it was by design, with recent collective bargaining agreements structured financially to keep talent in place regardless of a team’s market size.

“My goal would be we get to the point where we never think of the league as small market vs. big market teams,” Silver told Cleveland reporters last year as part of 2022 All-Star Weekend, encouraging fans of the LeBron-less Cavaliers. “I know we’re not there yet. I feel like we’re making progress.”

Silver mentioned Giannis Antetokounmpo as an example, citing the Bucks star’s ability to win a ring in Milwaukee. He did not have to move to win, nor seek out a showier locale to rack up commercial endorsements or other off-court opportunities.

Achieving balance in the NBA can be trickier than, say, in the NFL or MLB because one or two stars can dominate more easily in basketball. But distributing a dozen or so superstars and X number of next-level stars as evenly as possible across the 30 teams provides the best shot for the most constituents, from fans to players, coaches and franchises.

“What you want to see in the league,” Silver said, “is an equal opportunity for all teams to experience success.”

The last time that happened to this extent, though, the NBA wasn’t exactly thriving. That came from 1975 through 1980, when six different teams claimed titles, once each. Golden State won in 1975, followed by Boston, Portland, Washington, Seattle and the L.A. Lakers.

But that stretch coincided with a time when the league was saddled with tape-delayed telecasts of Finals games. The overall popularity was uncertain, too, and the league didn’t have any sort of global reach the way it does today.

As those issues were met head-on by Stern, new dynasties emerged. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird arrived in 1979, Michael Jordan joined them in 1986. The Lakers and Celtics were restored to their previous perches, with the Bulls and – thanks to David Robinson and Tim Duncan – the Spurs soon enjoying their own sustained success.

Player movement, injuries and load management have played roles more recently. Teams that lose or play without their stars find it more difficult to maintain their excellence. Where a team can find continuity, it wants to cling to it.

“This is an extremely competitive league and I think night to night you have no idea who’s going to be available,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said during the regular season. “So you better focus on your team, your habits, your identity, playing consistent basketball. That’s enough for us.”

As an unexpected Finals participant, the Heat lost one Play-In game, survived a fourth-quarter deficit in the next, then climbed through three rounds as a No. 8 seed. Their future contention is hard to predict, even if by future you’re talking weeks rather than seasons.

Denver? It seems to have gotten here at the right time, with a championship window that could stay propped open for a few years. If that is, someone is willing to guarantee Nikola Jokic’s and Jamal Murray’s health and whereabouts.

One unfortunate by-product of the one-and-done champions is that they don’t stick around long enough to burn themselves into our collective memory. All their stories, all their personalities, all their nooks and crannies as far as team dynamics, style of play and individual characters get pushed aside in less than 12 months for the next crew.

But that’s where the NBA is now. More cities getting to experience the jubilation, no dynasties to chase the all-timers or serve as bad guys to be toppled. It’s reminiscent of an old saying about rushing someone toward an exit: “Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?”

Only in the NBA now, it’s more like here’s your ring, what’s your hurry?

* * *

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.