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3 teams that can challenge the Nuggets for the NBA championship next season

By Nicholas Chiarito

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports) /
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Apr 19, 2023; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies during game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Denver Nuggets now have a championship to defend and the competition will be stiff.  Here are three teams that will challenge them next season. 

For the first time in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets have won the NBA Championship. They beat the Miami Heat fairly easily winning the series 4-1 and center Nikola Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP.

After dominating the playoffs, going 16-4, the Nuggets now enter the 2024 season as the title favorite according to multiple sports betting books.

The Nuggets have played some of the most fluid team basketball since the prime Golden State Warriors and, at times, looked almost impossible to defend. But this team is not unbeatable and these are some of the inner circle contenders likely to challenge them next year.

3 teams that will contend with the Nuggets: 3. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers were one of the strangest teams this past season. They started off the season at 2-10, then at the trade deadline, they were 25-31 as the No. 13 seed. They made some moves, finished the season at 43-39 and made the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers were extremely close to winning the championship this year, even though they got swept by the Nuggets, it was the most competitive sweep in NBA history as every game was close in the fourth quarter. ‘

With that being said, the Lakers should strongly believe that they have a chance to win a championship in 2024. LeBron struggled against the Nuggets but he’s still LeBron and when Anthony Davis is healthy, he is the best two-way player in the NBA.

One of the reasons the Lakers didn’t beat the Nuggets this year is that the Nuggets role players played extremely well and Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic kept hitting crazy shot after crazy shot. That means the Lakers do need to do some revamping to their roster by adding a couple of knockdown 3-point shooters and adding some perimeter and interior defense.

If the Lakers enter the 2024 season fully healthy where they are at the top of the western conference for most of the season, LeBron and AD can coast through the last few weeks of the season. Their number one priority is for both players to be fully healthy and rested for the playoffs. If that is the case, the Lakers can make a serious run at the title.

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