The 2023 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2022–23 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in five games, winning their first championship in franchise history after 47 seasons in the NBA. They became the second former American Basketball Association (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), 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.
The series started on June 1, and concluded on June 12. It was the first NBA Finals appearance for Denver. The Heat were the second 8 seed to reach the Finals, along with the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals.
Background Miami Heat
After losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals as the top seed in the Eastern Conference the previous season, the Heat barely qualified for the playoffs in 2023. They regressed from their 53–29 record the previous season and finished with a record of 44–38, their worst since the 2018–19 season when they missed the playoffs. Additionally, they finished the regular season ranked dead last in points per game and were the only team in the league to qualify for the playoffs with a negative point differential. Although they finished 7th in the regular season standings, Miami had to go through two play-in games to extend their season, losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the first and defeating the Chicago Bulls in the second, earning the 8th seed in the NBA playoffs.
In the first round, they faced the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the best record in the league and the betting favorites to win the championship. The Heat took game 1 on the road after Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a lower back contusion in the first half that ruled him out for the remainder of game 1, as well as the next two games. The Heat also lost star power of their own, as they lost starter Tyler Herro in game 1 with a broken hand, and Victor Oladipo with a torn left patellar tendon in game 3. Despite their setbacks, the Heat still managed to take a 2–1 series lead. In game 4, the Heat trailed by 12 with under six minutes remaining, but they went on a pivotal 30–13 run down the stretch, with Jimmy Butler scoring a career-high 56 points in a 119–114 victory to put the Bucks on the brink of elimination. The Heat then overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit in game 5 to become the sixth 8-seeded team to defeat a 1-seeded team in playoff history. Butler, who averaged just 22.9 points in the regular season, finished the first round averaging 37.6 points on 60% from the field.
Later in the conference semifinals, they defeated the New York Knicks in six games to clinch their third conference finals appearance in the last four seasons, where they faced the Boston Celtics, who finished with the second-best record in the league. The Heat led the series 3–0 before the Celtics won the next three games to force a game 7, in hopes of becoming the first NBA team to overcome a 3–0 series deficit. Miami won game 7 on the road by a score of 103–84, earning their seventh overall NBA Finals appearance. Butler was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP, while Caleb Martin, who averaged just 9.6 points in the regular season, finished the conference finals averaging 19.3 points. The Heat became the first eight-seeded team since the 1999 New York Knicks to reach the NBA Finals, and the first eighth-seeded team to reach the Finals in a full 82-game regular season. Outside of Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Heat got a majority of their playoff production from undrafted players such as Martin, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, and Max Strus, as well as veterans Kyle Lowry, Cody Zeller, and Kevin Love, the latter of whom Miami acquired in February 2023 after he was bought out by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets have had several years of recent success. In 2020, they reached their first Western Conference finals appearance since 2009; however, they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, who went on to win the 2020 NBA Finals. Denver could not get over the hump after this, largely due to injuries to key players. Jamal Murray, who was crucial to the Nuggets' playoff runs in 2019 and 2020, tore his ACL a month before the start of the 2021 playoffs as the Nuggets were swept by the Phoenix Suns in the second round. The 2021–22 season proved to be challenging as well, as the Nuggets had to play without Murray and lost starting forward Michael Porter Jr. to season-ending back surgery nine games into the season. Despite this, Denver still finished the season with a 48–34 record and earned the sixth seed, led by back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokić and starting power forward Aaron Gordon, who the Nuggets acquired in the middle of the 2020–21 season from the Orlando Magic for Gary Harris, R. J. Hampton, and a 2025 first-round pick. In the first round of the playoffs, the Nuggets lost in five games to the Golden State Warriors, who went on to win the 2022 NBA Finals.
The Nuggets entered the 2022–23 season with Murray and Porter Jr. healthy again. During the offseason, they traded for starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and rotation player Ish Smith from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Monté Morris and Will Barton. Denver also signed Bruce Brown in free agency and added young talent through the 2022 NBA draft, selecting Christian Braun and trading for Peyton Watson, giving up draft picks and JaMychal Green. With a healthy roster, the Nuggets finished the season with a 53–29 record and clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Nuggets won in five games over the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. Denver then faced the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns, who previously swept them in the conference semifinals in 2021. After going up 2–0 in the series, Phoenix won both their home games to tie the series at 2–2, despite a career-high 53 points from Jokić in game 4. The Nuggets then won game 5 in Denver and beat Phoenix on the road to advance in six games. Denver reached their second conference finals in four years, where they faced the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who previously defeated them in their first seven postseason matchups. The Nuggets defeated the Lakers in four games, marking their first sweep of an opponent in franchise history en route to reaching the Finals for the first time in their history. Jokić was awarded Western Conference finals MVP, as he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles in a single postseason. Playing in their 47th season in the NBA, the Nuggets became the last of the four teams from the American Basketball Association (ABA) that merged with the NBA to reach the NBA Finals. The franchise appeared in the championship round once in the ABA in 1975–76, the league's final season before the merger.
Road to the Finals
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot * – Division leader
+Play-in resultsMiami Heat (Eastern Conference champion) Denver Nuggets (Western Conference champion)Lost to the 8th placed Atlanta Hawks, 105–116Game 1N/ADefeated the 10th placed Chicago Bulls, 102–91Game 2
+Playoff resultsMiami Heat (Eastern Conference champion) Denver Nuggets (Western Conference champion)Defeated the 1st-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, 4–1First roundDefeated the 8th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, 4–1Defeated the 5th-seeded New York Knicks, 4–2Conference semifinalsDefeated the 4th-seeded Phoenix Suns, 4–2Defeated the 2nd-seeded Boston Celtics, 4–3Conference finalsDefeated the 7th-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, 4–0
Regular season series The Nuggets won the regular season series 2–0.
Series summary On April 26, the NBA announced that the start times for all the weeknight Finals games will move from 9:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT for the first time in 20 years. Sunday start times remained at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
GameDateRoad teamResultHome TeamGame 1 June 1 Miami Heat 93–104 (0–1) Denver NuggetsGame 2 June 4 Miami Heat 111–108 (1–1) Denver NuggetsGame 3 June 7 Denver Nuggets 109–94 (2–1) Miami HeatGame 4 June 9 Denver Nuggets 108–95 (3–1) Miami HeatGame 5 June 12 Miami Heat 89–94 (1–4) Denver Nuggets
Game summaries Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. For games in Denver, the local time is also given (MDT, UTC−6).
Game 1
Nikola Jokić had a triple-double and Jamal Murray contributed 26 points and 10 assists to lead Denver to a 104–93 win in their inaugural NBA Finals appearance. The Nuggets trailed for just 34 seconds in the game, and its largest lead was 24. Michael Porter Jr. recorded his seventh double-double of the playoffs, while Aaron Gordon set the tone by scoring 12 of his 16 points in the opening quarter. Bam Adebayo had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, who made just 41% of their field goals and 33% of their three-pointers. Denver remained unbeaten at home in the playoffs, while the Heat had been 3–0 in their series openers. Miami also dropped to 1–6 all-time in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Jokić had 10 points and 10 assists by halftime, when Denver was up 59–42. Through the first three quarters, Miami guarded him with Adebayo, Cody Zeller, and a zone defense, forcing Jokić to become a passer. The Heat went on an 11–0 run to start the fourth quarter, cutting an 84–63 deficit to 84–74. Nuggets coach Michael Malone countered by having Jokić post up closer to the basket, and he scored 12 points in the final period. Miami came within nine points after a 3-pointer by Haywood Highsmith with 2:34 remaining, but did not come any closer. Highsmith finished with 18 points off the bench, while Gabe Vincent hit five 3-pointers for Miami.
Jokić had 27 points on 67% shooting to go along with 14 assists and 10 rebounds, joining Jason Kidd of the then-New Jersey Nets as the only NBA players with a triple-double in their finals debuts. Jokić and Murray also became the second pair of teammates to each put up at least 25 points and 10 assists in a finals game since Magic Johnson and James Worthy in 1987. The Heat's Caleb Martin shot just 1 of 7, and Max Strus was 0 for 10, missing all nine of his 3-pointers. Jimmy Butler, who entered the finals averaging 28.5 points this postseason, scored a playoff-low 13 points. Additionally, Miami was just 2 for 2 on its free throws, tied for the fewest free throws made in a playoff game and breaking the record for fewest attempts in a playoff game.
Game 2
Miami rallied from a 15-point deficit to win 111–108 behind 23 points from Vincent and 21 each from Butler and Adebayo, becoming the first No. 8 seed to win an NBA Finals game on the road. The Heat built an early 21–10 lead with 4:56 left in the opening quarter before the Nuggets went on a 40–14 run over the next 12 minutes, turning the double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead. Down by eight entering the fourth quarter, the Heat outscored Denver 32–12 in the opening 8:21 of the fourth quarter to take a 12-point lead, then frittered most of it away and had to survive a 3-point try by Murray that missed as time expired. Miami knocked down 17 of their 35 threes and converted 18 of 20 free throws after making just two in Game 1. Jokić scored a game-high 41 points but recorded a playoff-low four assists as the Nuggets lost their first home game since March 30.