NBA World Reacts As Nuggets Edge LeBron James, Lakers to Reach First Finals

Denver's victory was almost a half-century in the making.

It took a long time—47 seasons in all since the ABA-NBA merger—but the Nuggets are finally headed to the NBA Finals.

Denver rallied past the Lakers to win Game 4 of the Western Conference finals by a score of 113–111 Monday evening, surviving a tremendous 40-point effort from Los Angeles forward LeBron James. The win gave the Nuggets their first conference title in a season where they finished with the West's best record for the first time.

It was an eventful, historic game, as James dropped 31 in the first half and Denver center Nikola Jokić broke a triple-double record held by Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain. The dramatic affair drew a variety of reactions from basketball observers and fans, most in praise of Jokić and James.

Many were quick to point out that the win made the Nuggets the final holdover from the ABA to reach the NBA's flagship event.

• Get your seats to the NBA Finals with SI Tickets

The Nuggets are the last of the ABA's four teams from the '76 NBA-ABA merger to make the NBA Finals:
1999 -- Spurs
2000 -- Pacers
2002 -- Nets
2023 -- Nuggets https://t.co/07TpSpkQcA

— Rob Peterson (@ShotDrJr) May 23, 2023

Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers offered Denver reluctant, hilarious congratulations.

Congratulations to the nuggets, the better team won. I’m gonna go drink motor oil.

— Flea (@flea333) May 23, 2023

For many, the win served as validation of Jokić's gradual ascent to superstardom.

If Jokic hasn’t convinced you by now, he never will.

— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) May 23, 2023

Jokić's humble origins as a second-round draft pick were rehashed.

Fun fact: Nikola Jokic was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial https://t.co/A7muEZSZtm pic.twitter.com/haTXl7NMm2

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) May 23, 2023

Warriors fans had a laugh at their rivals' expense.

Lakers and Warriors finish with the same amount of wins in the WCF 🔥

— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) May 23, 2023

ESPN—a frequent target for its Lakers-centric coverage throughout the postseason—took flak for its outro.

Can’t make it up…first question asked after ESPN tosses it back to the studio:

“The Nuggets are going to the Finals after a legendary first half performance from LeBron…so what went wrong w/ the Lakers?”

— Zach Bye (@byesline) May 23, 2023

The enormity of James's achievements were also put into perspective.

LeBron got bopped in the face by AG, hit on the knee by Jokic, played 48 minutes and scored 40 points on one good foot. He eliminated the talkative Griz & the defending champs. He went out on his shield to the eventual champs. Bravo.

— Wildes (@kevinwildes) May 23, 2023

However, that didn't stop NBA Twitter from giving the King a proper elimination sendoff.

ESPN gonna get a cameraman to follow LeBron walking through TSA precheck all the way to his boarding gate for his flight to Cancun

— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) May 23, 2023