Deadspin's 2023 All-NBA Finals Team

The 2023 NBA Finals was not a sexy matchup on paper. A team from the mountain time zone with a mountain in the middle of lane, against a team from South Florida with no flash. These were the two teams that kept America from the NBA’s most classic championship matchup, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics.

It took only five games for the Denver Nuggets to hoist the franchise’s first NBA Championship trophy, but the Heat forced them to battle the entire way. Every time the Nuggets looked like they were going to run away with a game, the Heat battled to keep the score within reach. The Heat even got a win in Denver, making them the only team in the 2023 postseason to win a game at 5,280 feet.

They threw the pace of the game into the mud, and forced their opponent to slog through it in order to win. The Nuggets responded to the challenge, and even when the game grinded to a halt in the fourth quarter of Game 5, they still found a way to make just enough plays to win.

A truly impressive effort from the Nuggets, that was mostly a pleasure to watch. Here are the players who had the greatest impact on the year’s edition of The Finals.

Not his best scoring series, but the Nuggets would not be able to win without him. Murray did make history, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 10 assists in each of his first four Finals games. He was always a threat on the floor and allowed his team enough flexibility to keep the Heat uncomfortable for the entire series.

If he didn’t know before, weight classes exist for a reason. Even though Adebayo was forced to battle a significantly larger human being, he managed to be the Heat’s best player in the series. He was their leading scorer and also kept up the best field-goal percentage of players on the roster who averaged more than 25 minutes per game. Combine that with his effort on the glass and on defense, the 2023 NBA Finals would have been Globetrotters vs. Generals without him.

He will always be remembered most for leaping ass first over a mascot. That dunk may be forever the best in NBA Slam Dunk Contest history. During these finals though, he gave the Nuggets whatever they needed. Gordon buried threes, finished at the rim, put up a detour sign on defense, his talent was on full display.

Wholly unstoppable, and also deterred the Heat from attacking the rim. As hard as the Heat tried, they could not provide an adequate counter for his size. Slowing the pace helped, but when the two-time MVP is comfortable at that pace, succeeding consistently in only that aspect of play will not result in victory.

A force throughout the entire postseason, and possibly made the biggest play in the history of the Denver Nuggets franchise. Game 5 was a rock fight, and it was Brown’s heave that nailed the opponent right between the eyes. His putback with a minute and a half remaining gave the Nuggets a lead that they would never relinquish.

He stirs the drink, sparks the engine, and ignites the fire for the Nuggets. He won the NBA Finals MVP award with good reason. Jokić was by far the best player in this series. His 30.2 points per game on 58.3/42.1/83.8 shooting splits is one of the greatest scoring performances in NBA Finals history. The Heat played as hard as they could, but only one instance of foul trouble was able to slow him down in this series.