The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2023 postseason trip was a roller coaster because they qualified for the postseason as the seventh seed in the Western Conference after a heart-pounding Play-In Tournament victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After that, they faced the defending champion Golden State Warriors and a young, dangerous Memphis Grizzlies team, which they eventually defeated in six games after snatching Game 1 on the road.
But the Lakers’ hardest test to date came in the Western Conference Finals. Los Angeles was waiting for the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, who ultimately won in four games. The Nuggets’ offensive arsenal, which included Nikola Joki, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was too much for the Lakers to handle.
Bruce Brown, who the Lakers were strongly linked to heading into free agency this summer before he signed with the Indiana Pacers, was another player who proved to be a thorn in their side. In an interview with Theo Pinson on the Run Your Race Podcast, Brown discussed the Conference Finals and acknowledged that it was emotional for the Nuggets, especially Jokic:
“I don’t know why, but I believe the series was more personal for us than any other series. However, we were talking that trash while at their neck. Nikola [Jokic] has never spoken on the court in my experience. Although he wasn’t talking trash, he was engaged in the game. He appeared to be playing no games and to have a point to make and he’s the best player in the world.”
The Nuggets were locked into this series with their consistent scoring and appeared to take it personally. Even though the Lakers were still in every game, the Nuggets won when it came to making clutch offensive and timely shots.
While the players were acting out, Michael Malone, the head coach of the Nuggets, was displeased with how the Lakers were always given preferential treatment in the media, regardless of whether the Nuggets won or lost. After the series was over, Malone kept making fun of LeBron James and the Lakers, which prompted a response from the Lakers star later in the season.
With rivalries being a rare commodity in today’s NBA, it feels like one is forming between these two teams, and given that both teams have championship aspirations, it should only grow in 2023–24. It would be intriguing to see if the Lakers can defeat the defending champions next season given that they brought back their key players and made some minor improvements, especially now that Brown is gone.