The Denver Nuggets are starting to go mainstream. After a 14-7 start and one of the most exciting young cores in the NBA, the national media is starting to buy in on the Nuggets as a legitimate up-and-comer in the Western Conference, perhaps even ready to become a challenger as early as, well, now.
Today on The Jump, Rachel Nichols gave an overview of a growing narrative surrounding the Denver Nuggets: they’re young, they’re good, and they have a little edge to them. “There’s no chill to the Denver Nuggets,” she says with a smile as she begins a monologue that covers both the team’s hot start and the growing swagger radiating off of a organization that has to shout the loudest just to be heard.
Jamal Murray is at the center of this growing reputation surrounding the Nuggets but Nichols shares Michael Malone’s pointed, mic-dropping “Take that L on the way out” speech, the team’s twitter account getting feisty, and of course, the new rainbow skylines that are as flamboyant as Nichols sees the team becoming.
I love this narrative, and not just because it’s great to see the league paying homage to a team that deserves a little spotlight. However, I’m also not sold. Malone has an edge. Murray has some cockiness. But outside of those two, I’m not sure that the Nuggets are actually an edgy, cocky team. They’re just good. They’re talented. And they have a lot of soft-spoken, smart players who have carried themselves with quiet confidence all season long. It’s only the Lakers that bring out the team’s swagger.
Nonetheless, I’m fine with the label. If the Nuggets keep winning and winning in style, they’ll get a target on their back sooner rather than later. And when that happens, they’ll need a little edge. So perhaps the seeds of that brash confidence are just being planted. Either way, it’s fun to have a reputation that, at the moment, everyone seems to enjoy.
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