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Dates | June 1–12 | |||||||||
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MVP | Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets) | |||||||||
Eastern finals | Heat defeated Celtics, 4–3 | |||||||||
Western finals | Nuggets defeated Lakers, 4–0 | |||||||||
The 2023 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2022–23 season and conclusion to the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven playoffs was played between the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat and the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets. The series started on June 1, and concluded on June 12.[1]
The Nuggets defeated the Heat in five games, winning their first championship in franchise history after 47 seasons in the NBA, and becoming the second former 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),[2][3][4] 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.[5] Jokić is the lowest-selected player to ever win Finals MVP, being the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft.[6] This marked the first NBA Finals appearance for Denver. The Heat became the second No. 8 seed to ever reach the Finals, along with the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals.[7]
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