The Denver Nuggets completed their sweep of the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on Monday night, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time ever.
On FOX Sports Radio earlier that day, Colin Cowherd responded to Nuggets fans who have lashed out at Cowherd and others in the media for perceived disrespect of the team and the success they’ve had this season.
Cowherd said being leery of Denver’s ability to rise to the moment on the sport’s biggest stage isn’t meant to be interpreted as rooting against them. He has history on his side.
“It’s not disrespectful to respect history,” Cowherd said. “There’s a history in the NBA when you get these young, really talented teams that can look like they can win a championship.”
Cowherd cited multiple examples including the Russell Westbrook/Kevin Durant era with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the James Harden-led Houston Rockets, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the L.A. Clippers, this year’s Celtics and the early 2000s Sacramento Kings. He said it’s easy to look at how things panned out for teams similar to the Nuggets when they find themselves on the cusp of immortality and question whether they have it in them to win it all.
“When the Denver Nuggets are rising and ascending with young stars, it’s OK for us to go, ‘Well I don’t know. Let’s see what they’re like on the big stage,'” he said. “Now they’ve been very good on the big stage, but we didn’t know.”
Colin also drew a comparison of the Nuggets to the Milwaukee Bucks before they won their 2021 championship. All the pieces are there, but you just never know when they go up against a more experienced team.
“It’s not disrespectful,” Cowherd said. “We didn’t know if the young guys would step to the table.”
