Fresh off winning the franchise's first NBA championship, the Denver Nuggets are +475 betting favorites at Caesars Sportsbook for the 2023-24 season.

Denver entered the postseason as the No. 6 favorite with 11-1 odds despite earning the Western Conference top seed. However, winning a championship with Finals MVP and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic has changed the perception.

"The Nuggets have impressed throughout the playoffs," Caesars lead NBA trader David Lieberman told ESPN. "They have cemented themselves as not just a great regular-season team, but also getting over the hump to become a perennial championship contender with a roster full of players in their primes."

Denver's title caps an NBA season that many perceived as more wide open than any in league history. The consensus favorites were priced around +600, the longest recorded odds for an opening-night favorite.

The upcoming season has a similar outlook. The Boston Celtics (+575), Milwaukee Bucks (+700) and Phoenix Suns (+850) join the Nuggets with single-digit odds. The Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers all sit at 12-1.

"Parity is at a pretty high level and many teams are a healthy roster or a solid player add away from being legitimate title contenders. The odds reflect how close many teams currently are to taking the next step, similar to the one that the Nuggets have made this season," Lieberman said.

The Miami Heat pulled off an improbable run to capture the Eastern Conference as an eight-seed. The Heat entered the postseason at 150-1 odds and now are 18-1 for next year.

"I didn't want to go too high on them," SuperBook head NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman told ESPN. "After falling short [to Denver], they could be aggressive and who knows if they trade for someone like [Damian] Lillard. I don't think they'll just bring back the same team and hope it's going to be better next year."

Each offseason challenges oddsmakers to anticipate player movement in the form of trades and free agency. The Memphis Grizzlies (22-1) finished with the Western Conference's second seed but face uncertainty surrounding the impending suspension of two-time All-Star Ja Morant.

The Detroit Pistons, who finished a league-worst 17-65, have the longest odds at 600-1.

DENVER -- Nikola Jokic didn't win his third straight Most Valuable Player award this season, but he still ended up with an MVP trophy after all.

In addition to getting the championship he has coveted, Jokic was named NBA Finals MVP after the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 at Ball Arena.

Jokic closed out Miami with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists to help the Nuggets win the franchise's first NBA title. Like each opponent the Nuggets faced this postseason, the Heat had very few answers for Jokic.

When asked how it feels to be an NBA champion, Jokic told ESPN's Lisa Salters on the court: "It's good. It's good. The job is done, and we can go home now."

Prior to this championship run, Jokic, 28, was already considered one of the best players in the league. But now that he has won a championship and a Finals MVP, one NBA Hall of Famer says this catapults the Serbian big man into a different stratosphere.

"It puts him in the legendary category for what he's done statistically in the Finals," former Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas told ESPN. "I don't know if there's anyone who's ever had a statistical run in the NBA Finals as a center as he had in these categories."

After a couple of years of much debate over who the regular-season MVP should have been between Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thomas said it's hard to argue who is the best player in the world.

"Hey, right now, when you're the champ and your team [wins the title], you're the best player and the best team," said Thomas, the 1990 Finals MVP. "And it may not be for [the next] five years. But when you're talking about like now, the best player now is him. And the best team is the Denver Nuggets.

"When you're a champion, that's all that matters. If you can say, 'I'm the best in the world,' even it's only for a day, or even if it's for a year, what a remarkable moment to have for yourself. And then be stamped. And everyone acknowledges that. No greater feeling."

Jokic is the lowest-drafted player (41st overall in the second round in 2014) to win the Finals MVP, passing Dennis Johnson, who was drafted 29th overall in 1979, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He also becomes only the third second-round pick to win Finals MVP, joining Willis Reed and Johnson (Moses Malone won the 1983 Finals MVP with the Philadelphia 76ers but wasn't drafted by an NBA team because he started his career in the ABA with the Utah Stars).

Jokic joins Antetokounmpo, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players born overseas to take home the Finals award. And he did it by putting together one of the all-time great postseason runs. He was averaging a triple-double for most of the postseason until the Finals. He had 10 triple-doubles during this run, with eight in a 12-game span.

Jokic put up some eye-popping performances, including 53 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4 at the Phoenix Suns in the second round and becoming the first player to have a 30-20-10 triple-double in Finals history with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 3 at Miami.

"Jokic is an all-time great," Phoenix's Kevin Durant said after Jokic averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists against the Suns. "Going to go down as one of the all-time great centers to ever touch a basketball."

Jokic's Nuggets eliminated Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards in the first round, Phoenix's Devin Booker and Durant in the second and swept the Lakers' LeBron James and Anthony Davis -- who beat Jokic and the Nuggets in the West finals in 2020 -- in the conference finals before dispatching Jimmy Butler and the Heat.

"I know how great he is," James said about Jokic after the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers. "I know how great Jokic is. There are certain guys in this league that play the game a certain way, a certain way that I like to play the game as well, and he's one of them where you are always off-balance when you are guarding a player like that because of his ability to score, rebound, shoot. He sees plays before they happen.

"There's not many guys in our league like that. So you already knew you was going against a beast once the series started, and not only just about his game. Everybody gets cracked up into his stats but I don't think a lot of people talk about [the cerebral part] of his game. Maybe it's not talked about it, because a lot of people don't understand it, but I do. He's special."

As James alluded to, Jokic found himself subjected to the debate over whether he should win a third straight MVP in 2022-23, which would have put him in rare company alongside only Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

This season, Jokic seemed to tire of the conjecture surrounding the MVP race between himself, Embiid and Antetokounmpo. After winning the previous two MVPs back-to-back, Jokic received criticism from those who said he wasn't the best player in the NBA.

It became louder as detractors pointed toward accusations of stat padding while Jokic collected 29 triple-doubles in the regular season. Some suggested Jokic is this generation's Steve Nash, a generational team-first passer who had gaudy statistics but wasn't the best player of his era nor able to win a championship.

Jokic often shut down MVP questions by saying he didn't care about winning the award and only wanted to lead his team to a championship. But after Jokic collected his 100th career triple-double at the Houston Rockets on Feb. 28, the center admitted he had heard some of the criticism about why he didn't deserve to win MVP again.

"When you're stat padding it's easy, you know," Jokic said when asked about the triple-double milestone.

When asked if he had heard that he was being called a stat padder, Jokic cracked, "Yes, of course. It's true."

Race even was brought up by some as an excuse as to why Embiid wasn't selected as MVP prior to winning it for the first time this season. (Jokic finished second in this year's voting.)

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone couldn't stand idly by and not defend Jokic.

After Jokic led the Nuggets to their sweep over the Lakers, Malone was asked what Jokic was showing so far in his tear through the postseason.

"I think he's showing other people nationally that he's real," Malone said last month. "Like what he's doing is real. The MVPs are real. The triple-doubles are real. The silly narratives this year are just silly and somewhat ignorant. I think Nikola has gone through three rounds now where he's averaging a triple-double in the playoffs.

"Have you seen any stat padding out there? I'm serious. Enough of the silliness. The guy is a great player. Give him his damn respect. Stop chopping him down at the knees."

For Jokic, Finals MVP is just the latest hardware he's earned for his scintillating play. But it just happens to come with winning the hardware he truly wanted -- the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Jokic has always made it clear that he is about the team and winning over any individual accolades.

Teammate Jamal Murray believes Jokic is only going to get better. Opposing defenses tried throwing everything at Jokic with little success.

"He's been doing that for so long at all levels," Murray said. "He won his first MVP, and his numbers were better [during] the second MVP. And his numbers are better now.

"I think there's more to come, actually, from Jok. We haven't seen a side of Jok that we are going to see where he can be just pure dominance all the way, the whole game, even more than he has been."

DENVER -- In the biggest game in Denver Nuggets history, veteran center DeAndre Jordan had a second-half message for star point guard Jamal Murray during a timeout.

"Go win this game," Jordan was heard saying on the broadcast. "Twelve minutes, bro, and you in history.

"Immortal."

Murray, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets heeded the call for history, doing what they have done this entire magical postseason and adapting to any obstacle or defensive wrinkle thrown their way.

After opening Monday night's Game 5 of the NBA Finals missing an abysmal 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts, the Nuggets came up with championship-winning plays in the final minutes to bring home the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy for the first time in the franchise's 47 years in the league.

From Jokic's basket inside with 2:24 left to Bruce Brown's putback with 1:31 to go to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's steal off a Jimmy Butler pass with 27.1 seconds left, the Nuggets made big play after big play in a hard-fought 94-89 win over the Miami Heat at an overjoyed Ball Arena.

"The job is done, and we can go home now," said Jokic, who completed an unstoppable postseason by scoring 19 of his 28 points in the second half to go with 16 rebounds and four assists and won Finals MVP honors. He immediately went to shake hands with Heat players after the buzzer sounded.

"They are a great team. ... An amazing team that I respect a lot," Jokic said of the Heat. "It was an ugly game; we couldn't make shots. But in the end, we figured it out, how to defend. They scored [89] points, and that's how we won the game."

His two-man partner, Murray, also came up with some big baskets late, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the second half to go with eight assists and eight rebounds.

"All the hard work, all the sacrifice, all the dedication, all culminated with us winning a championship," Denver coach Michael Malone said on the championship podium. "But I got news for everybody out there: We're not satisfied with one. We want more. We want more."

After scoring a total of 18 points in the previous three games and shooting just 3-for-22 from behind the arc in the Finals, Michael Porter Jr. finally found his game, delivering 16 points and 13 rebounds. And it could not have come at a better time, as the Heat made everything a struggle for the Nuggets in the first half.

As has been the case in these Finals, the Nuggets were more than just Jokic and Murray. Aaron Gordon delivered an emphatic block on a Kyle Lowry jumper with 6:58 to go and the Nuggets up by three that defined how Denver was going to do whatever it took to deny Miami a season-saving win.

Then Caldwell-Pope buried just the team's fourth trey of the night to give the Nuggets an 86-79 lead with 4:06 left.

But Butler and the Heat would erase that deficit with one final run. While down one with a chance to make a go-ahead basket, Butler picked up his dribble inside and looked for someone to pass to. He threw the ball to Caldwell-Pope, the Nugget who brought championship experience with him from his Los Angeles Lakers days.

Caldwell-Pope would hit two free throws to push the lead to 92-89.

Butler tried one final time to save the Heat season, but his 3 ricocheted off the rim and into Brown's hands to start the Mile High City celebration.

This night was a culmination of incredible patience by the Nuggets franchise: building around Jokic and Murray; waiting for Murray and Porter to recover from serious knee and back injuries, respectively, that kept them out for extended periods over the previous two seasons; and not making significant changes to the coaching staff or personnel.

"I feel really fortunate that our journey has been one of patience, one of drafting really well and developing those players," Malone said Sunday, on the eve of Game 5. "And then adding the right pieces around them.

"Everybody does it differently. Some teams want to mortgage their future and go get the surefire player, the All-Star. For us, there's never been a rushed mentality. That starts with the ownership. The Kroenke family has been phenomenal since day one allowing this thing to play itself out and not overreacting to other bumps in the road. I think there are other teams in this league that are looking at how we have done it, smaller-market teams, how we've done it. I think more teams will try to kind of make this a blueprint."

For Jokic, this championship stamps his status as the best player in the NBA. After winning two regular-season MVP awards, there was still doubt in some corners about whether he is the best player in the game.

Jokic finished the postseason with a combined 52.9 points, rebounds and assists per game, the second most in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

DENVER -- Long before Nikola Jokic won his first NBA championship, his first Finals MVP and his back-to-back league MVPs, there was "Jokmas."

It was 10 days before Christmas in 2016, and Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone was "racking" his brain for solutions to jump-start his team, which was sputtering to a 9-16 start to the 2016-17 season.

The Nuggets had been starting Jokic and fellow big man Jusuf Nurkic as the foundation of a gigantic lineup that wasn't working, spurring Jokic to ask Malone to bring him off the bench. But after the Nuggets lost by 20 points against the Dallas Mavericks, Malone returned home late that night deliberating his next move.

Malone had a revelation that changed the course of the franchise.

"I'm talking to myself," Malone told ESPN. "This kid was All-Rookie as a center and here I am bringing him off the bench and playing him as a 4 and a 5. And I said, 'Screw everything.' Nikola's a center. He's our center. And the next game, I started him at center. From that point in time, our offense, our team, our winning, everything just went straight up.

"I made a decision that he would become the focal point of everything we do, every decision we make, every player we bring in has to be somebody that can play with and complement Nikola."

The next game, Jokic started and played just 19 minutes because of foul trouble, finishing with 13 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers. But the Nuggets won by 12, the first victory in a three-game win streak.

Malone's decision set the Nuggets on their path to hoisting their first Larry O'Brien Trophy on Monday night. That night on Dec. 15, 2016, "Jokmas" was born and the big man from Sombor, Serbia, was on his way to becoming a playoff record-breaking triple-double generator, an all-time passer and one of the greatest centers since Wilt Chamberlain.

"Now knowing what this means," Malone said, "it was just a really truly defining moment in this franchise's history because I think everything at that point in time changed and changed for the better. ...

"It was the best decision I ever made."

When the Nuggets selected the 6-11 Jokic with the No. 41 pick in 2014, then-general manager Tim Connelly never would have never imagined he had discovered one of the all-time draft gems.

Jokic had displayed the passing vision, the soft touch and the team-first selfless attitude, but there was plenty of work to be done on molding his body and adding strength.

Nine years since that draft, Jokic has become a transcendent center who can handle and pass like a point guard, score from seemingly anywhere on the court with Dirk Nowitzki-like one-legged daggers and muscle his way inside to dominate the glass. Masterminds such as Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have had trouble uncovering a weakness to exploit.

And he's only getting better. Merry Jokmas, Denver fans.

Here are the stories that give a glimpse of the big man's journey to his first NBA championship.

-- Ohm Youngmisuk

'You never quite know what kind of trick he will try to pull off'

"Basketball is about teammates," Jokic told me the first time I met and interviewed him in Portland, Oregon, at the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit. "When I'm open, I score. When I'm not, I pass.

"I play basketball as simple as I can. I don't jump high. I don't run fast."

Jokic wasn't a well-known or highly regarded NBA prospect at that point, which helps explain why he was the No. 41 pick two months later. But signs of what would make him so special were on display, as written in my scouting report:

"Jokic, an exceptionally unique player, has an advanced feel for the game. ... He's such an unconventional and creative finisher that you never quite know what kind of trick he will try to pull off, which has left many rotating defenders baffled, while old-school NBA lifers just shake their heads and smile."

Unfortunately for Jokic, he was forced to take a backseat to prospects such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles as the future Duke national champion trio of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow took down the World Select team, with Jokic putting up 5 points, 7 rebounds, 0 assists and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes of action, struggling to cover ground and being scored on repeatedly.

There were hints of Jokic's supernatural feel for the game in the form of well-timed blocks, steals, rebounds and simple passes, but he barely touched the ball offensively and his severe athletic limitations made it difficult to envision him holding his own physically in the NBA. Few expected him to enter the draft less than a month later, especially since he had only begun to play basketball seriously a year and a half earlier when he moved to Belgrade to play for Mega Vizura.

Even fewer -- including Jokic himself -- anticipated his rise into the best basketball player in the world.

"I'm going step-by-step," Jokic said in April 2014 when asked about his career aspirations. "I don't think so much about the NBA, but everyone loves to play in the NBA. Maybe some big EuroLeague club: Barcelona, Real [Madrid].

"[But] the NBA is the NBA."

-- Jonathan Givony

'Don't let Coke be stronger than you'

Before Jokic's name would routinely be mentioned for reaching a statistical feat for the first time since Chamberlain, the Serbian center arrived in the U.S. unable to hold a plank exercise position for 20 seconds.

"I died! I died," Jokic told ESPN in 2019. "I was shaking. I said, 'I can't.' I said, 'Fuuuuuuuu ...'"

The Nuggets discovered that the center with the sweet passes had a sweet tooth. Spoelstra might not have been able to find a flaw in Jokic's game in the NBA Finals, but before Jokic came to the NBA, he had a weakness for Coca-Cola, downing three liters per day in Serbia.

"I think it's just mental," said Jokic, who drank his last can on his first flight to Denver in 2015. "Like, don't let Coke be stronger than you."

With the help of Nuggets director of performance and head strength and conditioning coach Felipe Eichenberger, Jokic began transforming his body, first into an All-Star fit enough to put up 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists in 65 minutes during a quadruple-overtime loss in the playoffs to Portland in 2019 and then into a leaner two-time MVP who can punish opponents with a combination of finesse and strength.

Replacing soda with protein drinks, Jokic's vices these days are a lot healthier. When he's not spending time with his wife, Natalija; daughter, Ognjena; and his brothers, Jokic is indulging in his passion for horses and horse racing. Jokic has said during this postseason run that he spent some of the off-time he and the Nuggets had in-between each series watching his horses compete overseas.

"I enjoy animals," Jokic said. "Their nature. They're really good animals. Every different horse has a different personality, like a human."

Jokic used to love playing video games and binge-watching shows such as "Friends" and "Game of Thrones." This postseason, he has said he tries to spend time in the pool with his daughter if the Denver weather cooperates on off-days.

Once a chubby kid in Sombor, Jokic has an MVP body fit for lounging by the water after toppling his very first sugary and carbonated opponent.

-- Youngmisuk

How Game 82 fueled championship No. 1

Ninety minutes before Game 4 of the 2023 Finals, Malone took a walk down memory lane.

When describing the moment he knew Jokic and Jamal Murray would be the stars that the Nuggets could build around, one game popped into Malone's mind.

"The play-in tournament before the play-in tournament," Malone said.

It was the regular-season finale on April 11, 2018, when Malone and his team found themselves in the battle that served as the de facto precursor for the modern play-in: game No. 82 against Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the winner securing the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We lost that game in overtime, but Nikola and Jamal, a third-year player, a second-year player, they were out there playing at a high level," Malone said. "I can remember Josh Kroenke coming up to me after that game and being excited about what the future held because of how well those guys played with the stakes that were obviously going on during that game."

Jokic, who scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss, hasn't stopped improving since. It was a seminal moment for the player who would go on to become a two-time MVP and the leader of an NBA champion, and it was the first major taste of playoff atmosphere for Jokic & Co.

It was also preparation for future battles with Butler, the star Denver would defeat as a member of the Heat years later en route to the organization's first championship.

-- Nick Friedell

The series loss that jump-started Jokic's MVP rise

Denver ended up falling to the Trail Blazers in seven games in the 2019 West finals, and while Jokic led the team in every major category -- averaging 27.1 points and 13.9 rebounds in 42 minutes a game -- he wore down as the series went on.

By the end of Game 7, he had nothing left. He missed seven of 10 shots in the fourth quarter, unable to carry his team across the finish line.

It was a devastating defeat. The Nuggets had been up by 11 points at home midway through the third quarter. All they had to do was finish and they'd be in the West finals against a Golden State Warriors team dealing with injuries and chemistry issues.

Afterward, as Malone huddled the Nuggets coaches in the locker room, they heard a knock at the door.

It was Jokic. He had come to tell them he'd never let that happen again.

Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman remembers the sentiment in Jokic's voice as much as what he said.

"He was emotional when he came in," Adelman said. "I think he felt like he wore down in the second half, and we all looked at him like, 'Joker. You carried us through this whole process.'

"The responsibility he has for us is different than maybe any player in the NBA. He can be our center. He can be our point guard. He can play the wing. He can be a catch-and-shoot guy. He's playing every part of the floor."

But Jokic was not interested in any consolations. He had finally felt what he and Eichenberger had been talking about: Everything he had was not enough to win. There was another level he needed to get to.

"I mean, he gave everything he had possible," Adelman said. "But then I think he, in his mind, thought, 'Maybe I can give more. Maybe if I get in even better shape. Maybe if I do this.'"

And so he did.

-- Ramona Shelburne | Read the full story

The night the Jokic Bros. joined Twitter

Within seconds of creating the account, Jokic's older brothers became social media phenomenons.

The circumstances had something to do with it.

It was Nov. 9, 2021, the day after their 6-11 little brother posted a 25-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a home rout of the Heat. That game is remembered for a nasty exchange with 2:39 remaining, when Jokic responded to a cheap shot to his ribs by Markieff Morris by ramming his shoulder into the Miami forward's back as Morris walked away.

Morris received a flagrant foul 2, a $50,000 fine and a case of whiplash that sidelined him for the next four months. Jokic was also ejected and suspended for a game.

Several Heat players -- including Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry -- waited steps outside the Nuggets' locker room after the game, although a postgame confrontation didn't happen.

But the beef blew up on Twitter, and brothers on both sides got involved.

Markieff's twin, Marcus, then a forward for the LA Clippers, tweeted that Jokic "waited till bro turned his back smh. NOTED"

That prompted the creation of the short-lived @JokicBrothers account, which immediately replied to Marcus Morris: "You should leave this the way it is instead of publicly threatening our brother!Your brother made a dirty play first . If you want to make a step further be sure we will be waiting for you !! Jokic Brothers"

Strahinja, the eldest, played pro ball in Europe for several years and stands about 6-8 and 300-plus pounds. Nemanja is a leaner 6-6 but has an undefeated record in three professional MMA fights.

Fortunately for all, the beef didn't escalate beyond social media. The Jokic brothers, who have been regulars at Denver games throughout Nikola's career, made the Nuggets' next Miami trip without incident.

-- Tim MacMahon

Jokic and the NBA's biggest big man battle

As anyone who has watched the NBA over the past decade or so knows, the league has consistently moved away from the low post game that defined so much of its history, instead churning out one perimeter star after another as the sport has migrated to the 3-point line and beyond.

That's what has made the battles between Jokic and Joel Embiid over the past three seasons for the league's MVP award so fascinating, as annually the title for the sport's best player across 82 games has come down to a pair of 7-foot centers going toe-to-toe.

But while that has been a back-and-forth affair over the past three years -- with Jokic claiming back-to-back MVPs before Embiid took the honor this season -- Jokic has ended it with his play over the past two months.

He has emphatically settled another debate: Can a team built around a center win in today's NBA?

Before Denver's run, the last champion led by a center was the 2002 Los Angeles Lakers, whose three-peat was powered by Shaquille O'Neal's dominance in the paint and Kobe Bryant's brilliant scoring. From 1983 to 2020, only three centers -- Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994, David Robinson in 1995 and O'Neal in 2000 -- had won MVP.

Now, Jokic and Embiid have ripped off three in a row. (And Jokic will open as the clear favorite to win his third in 2023-24.)

It's all proof that in the modern "pace and space" version of the sport, there is still more than enough room for a dominant center to have a seat at the table among the best players -- both today, and all-time.

Of course, it helps when that player is a triple-double machine and the maestro of the unstoppable offense that ripped through Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, LeBron James and Anthony Davis and finally Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

That kind of playoff dominance has normally been reserved for guards and wings. But after Jokic's brilliance over the past two months, the center position is back at the center of the NBA universe.

-- Tim Bontemps

Defense -- Jokic's, in particular -- wins a championship

Even as Jokic established himself as the NBA's best player during the regular season, winning back-to-back MVPs and finishing second in the voting this season, a question lingered: Was his defense good enough for him to have the same impact deep in the playoffs?

Jokic has the misfortune of having his defensive weaknesses (shot blocking and defending in space) be much more readily apparent than his subtle strengths (defensive rebounding, forcing turnovers and avoiding defensive fouls).

In the crucible of the playoffs, those weaknesses become magnified. Such was the case during the Nuggets' previous playoff exits. Despite an improbable run to the 2020 conference finals with a pair of 3-1 comebacks in the bubble, Denver ranked 12th in defensive rating and last among teams that advanced more than a round. In 2021, the Nuggets ranked 13th (again last among teams that won a series) and last year they were dead last.

Of course, that wasn't just about Jokic, and Denver's roster around him looks very different than it did the past two seasons. The return of Murray made it more difficult for opponents to put offense-heavy lineups like Golden State's "Poole party" three-guard group on the court without paying at the other end.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets wisely added wing defenders Bruce Brown Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Christian Braun, who excel at chasing opposing ball handlers over screens and affecting pull-up attempts with what NBA coaches call a "rear-view" contest.

Nonetheless, let's reserve some of the credit for Denver ranking among the top half of playoff defenses for Jokic's development. Always most comfortable coming up to the level of the screen, Jokic has primarily played drop coverage in the postseason. And although he won't be confused for four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, Jokic has done an improved job of contesting shots in the paint.

During the regular season, opponents made 68.5% of rim attempts with Jokic as a primary defender, which ranked him 57th among the 66 players who defended at least 250 such shots, according to NBA Advanced Stats. In the playoffs, that has dropped to 59%, a difference of more than a point per game based on how many rim attempts Jokic has defended.

Now that Jokic has proved his defense is good enough to lead the Nuggets to the championship, there's only one question left to ask: How many times can he do it?

-- Kevin Pelton

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Daniel Murphy is joining the Los Angeles Angels on a minor league contract, the next step in a surprising comeback bid by the three-time All-Star.

The 38-year-old Murphy was hitting .331 in 37 games this season for the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League. He last played in the majors in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with the Colorado Rockies. During the winter that followed, he said he was retiring.

But more than two years later, Murphy is giving it another shot. His move to the Angels adds infield depth for Los Angeles and puts him back in affiliated ball with a big league organization.

"Honestly, I didn't know until a week or so ago that he was playing," Angels manager Phil Nevin said Monday before his team's game against the Texas Rangers. "It sounds like he looks good. He's been swinging the bat. We'll see what we got when he goes out and plays."

The Ducks announced the deal Monday, saying the Angels purchased Murphy's contract and he will report to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Angels confirmed they were adding Murphy, but did not specify where he is headed.

"I just heard about it a little while ago," Nevin said. "Yeah, it's a depth thing. I know he's been swinging well in the independent league. I'm fond of those guys that come from the independent leagues. I've been from one, too."

Murphy powered the New York Mets into the 2015 World Series with an incredible postseason performance, hitting home runs in a record six consecutive playoff games and winning the NL Championship Series MVP award.

He was runner-up for NL MVP in 2016 with the Washington Nationals, and won two Silver Slugger awards at second base. The left-handed hitter owns a .296 career batting average with 138 home runs, 735 RBI, 1,572 hits and a .796 OPS in 1,452 big league games over 12 seasons with the Mets, Nationals, Cubs and Rockies.

With the Ducks, he posted an .861 OPS with two homers, nine doubles and 19 RBI while playing first and second base. He had a 16-game hitting streak from May 16 to June 1, the longest by a Ducks player this season.

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball.

The Kansas City Royals designated veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment Monday and called up fellow outfielder Dairon Blanco.

Blanco is starting in left field and batting ninth in Monday night's game at home against the Cincinnati Reds.

Bradley, 33, is batting just .133 with one homer in 43 games this season, his first in Kansas City. The 2016 All-Star and 2018 American League Championship Series MVP, both with Boston, is a lifetime .225 hitter with 109 homers and 449 RBIs in 1,181 games with four teams.

Blanco, who came over from Cuba in 2016, got seven at-bats in five games for the Royals at the end of last season. He went 2-for-7 with a run and two RBIs.

He is slashing .347/.444/.451 with 47 stolen bases in 49 games at Triple-A Omaha this season.

"An exciting player," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "He's been consistent with his stolen bases. He's not just on a hot streak."

The Boston Red Sox lineup could be receiving a boost soon, as shortstop Trevor Story said Monday that he hopes to be back in action in July.

Story is currently on the 60-day injured list after undergoing an internal bracing procedure of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in January. He remains without a timetable for his return and wouldn't be ready to take the field by July, but Boston could opt to use him as a designated hitter.

"[July] is a real possibility for [designated hitter]," Story said. "I think that's as early as we've looked at it. That's obviously exciting to me. To be able to just impact the team with my bat is something I feel like I can do, so we'll make that decision soon."

From there, Story hopes to be back at shortstop a month later.

"I think the progression is kind of a moving thing based on how I feel," Story said. "I feel good about coming back to play shortstop sometime in August. I know that's what I want to do. That's my goal."

The Red Sox have seen six players take reps at short this season, including Enrique Hernandez, who has played 52 games at the position. Yu Chang (11 games), Pablo Reyes (nine), Christian Arroyo (three), Bobby Dalbec (one) and Enmanuel Valdez (one) have also spent time there.

Story, 30, hit a career-low .238 with 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 94 games last season, his first with Boston. With the since-departed Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, Story shifted over to second base, where he spent all 94 of his games.

In seven major leagues seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2016-2021) and Red Sox, Story is a career .268 hitter with 174 home runs, 516 RBIs and 113 steals. He is a two-time All-Star.

"Arm is feeling really good and my whole body is in a great spot," Story said. "I want to get back out there as quickly as possible, but I have to respect a lot of parts of this process and make sure we do it right first."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Dawn Pieper will show her love for the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night in the spirit of her late husband, Jay, who is the reason she became such a loyal supporter. Lifelong fan Gabriel Hernandez will cheer his heart out in hopes everyone in attendance can make a meaningful, monumental statement that they are far from done fighting to keep their team in the East Bay.

Fed-up fans in Oakland have hatched an unusual plan to protest the A's despised ownership group.

They're buying tickets.

Organizers are calling on A's supporters to stage a "Reverse Boycott" at the Coliseum on Tuesday. They plan to give away T-shirts to the first 7,000 fans to arrive and are hoping to make a statement with the biggest, most spirited crowd of the year when the A's host Tampa Bay. The goal is a sellout for a team with dismal attendance all season that has regularly been topped by most Triple-A franchises.

The bright green T-shirts made by local company Oaklandish read "SELL" -- a message for owner John Fisher to give up the team to someone who might keep it here. Nevada lawmakers, meanwhile, are discussing the A's proposed financing plan to build a new ballpark in Las Vegas.

Among those planning to attend: the drummers in the right-field bleachers that used to echo their support for the franchise that's been in the Bay Area since 1968.

Hernandez offered this message to fellow fans: "Be Loud, Be Proud, Bring Sign, Speak Your Mind, Go A's."

"I've been a fan my whole life. Raised in Oakland my whole life, no other sport connected with me like how the A's have and started going diehard mode in 2014," the 24-year-old Hernandez said. "Personally, I'm at a loss for words, as A's fans try again to keep their team in Oakland with plans already in full swing for a new ballpark in Las Vegas. To see not only A's fans but other MLB fans help come together supporting the movement, I'm proud of the fans who participated."

Naomi Arnst, a fan for 51 years, purchased a pair of tickets Monday for $144 each, including service charges, and another $147.50 on parking. The seats in section 110 are close to where she used to sit with corporate tickets. It's all worth the expense to be there Tuesday, and she notes, "With parking it cost as much as an A-list Broadway show."

"But it is time to make a statement," she said.

A's manager Mark Kotsay understands how much these passionate fans want their team to stay and applauds them for expressing themselves. He played for the A's parts of four seasons from 2004-07.

''Being here since 2004, which was my first year in this stadium, the bond that you get with this group of fans and fan base, you know the passion, you know the love regardless like I always talk about of the numbers," he said. "The difference this season is they're in an uncharted territory with the direction of this organization. It's only right for them to come out tomorrow and in one aspect peacefully display their feelings toward this organization possibly moving and the hope on our end is they also support the players, and I think they will."

Pieper, a season ticketholder for five years, said her husband who grew up in Oakland would "be sick to his stomach over this situation."

"I've been an A's fan since the early 2000s. He and [former player] Mark Ellis made me fall in love with the A's. I'm not at all surprised how big the Reverse Boycott has become and how much traction it's getting nationally," she said. "Never, ever underestimate A's fans. We are an incredibly loyal and passionate group. We will never give up and we will fight to the end to keep our team in Oakland."

Fans are hoping to show that support still exists for the A's, if not for Fisher, in a sign that the franchise shouldn't turn its back on Oakland.

"I want to thank and appreciate the fans who organized the incredible reverse boycott for Tuesday, and encourage people to attend the A's game tomorrow," Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan said in a message to The Associated Press. "Oakland has the best weather, the best community, and is a fabulous place for baseball."

Hernandez offered his gratitude to everyone who has helped in some way to make Tuesday's event happen, vowing that A's fans will be heard.

"We hope to make a statement to not only ownership but to MLB and the whole world that this isn't our fault, that we are here. Stop blaming us as fans for someone who is basically telling me to stop coming by trading our players, raising prices, taking away season ticket benefits like 50% concessions, 25% [merchandise], $10 parking. We aren't going down without a fight."

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jacob deGrom had reconstructive surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow Monday, and Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said the procedure went well.

The typical recovery time after this type of operation is at least 12-14 months. Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery, which came a week before deGrom's 35th birthday.

Texas signed deGrom to a $185 million, five-year deal in free agency last winter when the right-hander was coming off two injury-plagued seasons with the New York Mets.

Before deGrom (2-0, 2.67 ERA) got hurt, the American League West-leading Rangers won all six games the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner started. He last pitched against the New York Yankees on April 28, when he exited early because of injury concerns for the second time in three starts. The four-time All-Star had 45 strikeouts with only four walks in 30 ⅓ innings.

An MRI last week showed more inflammation and significant structural damage in the ligament, and the team announced deGrom would have season-ending surgery. A scan the day after he left the game against the Yankees, and before five bullpen sessions that followed, showed only inflammation.

Speaking to reporters after the MRI announcement, deGrom fought back tears as he spoke about his Rangers.

"We've got a special group here, and to not be able to be out there and help them win, that stinks," deGrom said. "Wanting to be out there and helping the team, it's a disappointment."

DeGrom spent his first nine major league seasons with the Mets, but threw only 156 ⅓ innings over 26 starts his last two years in New York. He missed the final three months of 2021 with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, then didn't make his first big league start last year until Aug. 2 after being shut down late in spring training because of a stress reaction in his right scapula.

After being drafted by the Mets in 2010, deGrom had Tommy John surgery while still in the low minors. He missed the entire 2011 season and didn't make his big league debut until 2014.

This surgery, expected to keep him out at least a year, will trigger Texas' conditional option on deGrom's contract for a sixth season at $20 million, $30 million or $37 million. The 2028 price will depend on deGrom's performance during the contract and health following the 2027 season, the fifth year of the deal.

Also before Monday's series opener vs. the Los Angeles Angels, Bochy said right-hander Jon Gray would not make his scheduled start Tuesday night while dealing with a blister. Bochy said the decision was made so the team could "stay on the top of it" and try to keep the blister from becoming a long-term issue for Gray (6-2, 2.32 ERA).

"It could be another five days, but it could be two or three days," Bochy said of when Gray would make his next start, adding he didn't expect the pitcher to miss a second turn.

Gray is coming off a 100-pitch complete game in a 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals last Wednesday when he struck out 12. It was the first complete-game loss by a Rangers starter since 2010. He is 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA in his last six starts, allowing four earned runs in 43 innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two-time Queen's champion Matteo Berrettini lost in straights sets on his return from injury as his grass season started poorly in Stuttgart.

Meanwhile, at 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, Canadian Milos Raonic claimed his first Tour-level win after nearly two years out with injuries.

He beat Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-4.

Raonic, Wimbledon runner-up in 2016, said he was still taking his recovery "day by day" after a "heartbreaking" period in which a series of injuries disrupted his career.

"It's been a real pleasure to get to play in front of people. I didn't get to hit a single tennis ball for a full year," former world number three Raonic, 32, said after his victory over fifth seed Kecmanovic.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking, I forgot that feeling. To be honest with you, it might have been a little bit easier if I played in front of nobody today.

"It's been a little heartbreaking a lot of the time when I couldn't do anything and it's nice for me to be here one more time.

"I get the chance to be on court, I get the chance to play, I get the chance to compete, to put in the work, and I get a chance to see how far it takes me, so I'm thankful."

At the Stuttgart Open, the 27-year-old Berrettini was competing for the first time since being forced to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters in April because of an abdominal injury.

He missed Wimbledon last year after he tested positive for coronavirus but the Italian, ranked 21 in the world, had enjoyed a series of excellent run of results on grass in the past couple of seasons before being dismantled by Sonego on Monday.

Fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 21, the world number 17, began with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Croatia's Borna Gojo following his run to the French Open fourth round.

France's Richard Gasquet, 36, beat American Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who received a first-round bye.