Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns compared Denver Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to the old-school San Antonio Spurs that were a dynasty during the Tim Duncan era.
It’s a massive compliment for the duo of Jokic and Murray, who took a 2-1 series lead on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
“They’re like the old-school Spurs,” Towns told ESPN. “They just keep walking you down.”
Jokic and Murray have played together for several seasons, but the 2022-23 season is where the duo seems to have realized its full potential.
Murray missed the end of the 2020-21 season and the entire 2021-22 campaign with a torn ACL, but now that he’s back, Denver is in the NBA Finals. The last two seasons that Murray has been healthy, he and Jokic have made the Western Conference Finals in each campaign.
“They’ve been together a long time,” Towns said. “It’s why they have such good chemistry. Every team that wins championships has had a stability that has allowed them to all get acclimated with each other at a championship level.”
The Spurs won five titles in the Duncan era, and they had a solid core of Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili that stayed together for a long time.
While the current Nuggets team hasn’t been together as long, it’s clear that Denver has great chemistry.
A big reason why is the amazing passing ability of Jokic, who has won two of the last three league MVP awards.
The big man became the first player in NBA Finals history to post a 30-20-10 game on Wednesday night against the Heat.
Nikola Jokic has the first 30-20-10 game in NBA Finals history, per @ESPNStatsInfo. (Blocks weren’t an official stat in the Russell/Wilt days.)
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 8, 2023
Jokic finished Game 3 with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, getting his teammates like Murray involved when he needed to. His uncanny passing ability has made Denver a fun team to watch, as the ball is always moving — similar to the Spurs’ dynasty era.
The Nuggets still have a long way to go to match the old-school Spurs’ success, but they are now just two wins away from capturing their first NBA title in franchise history.
Jokic and Murray have led the way in the NBA Finals, and Wednesday’s Game 3 win allowed Denver to take back home-court advantage in the series.
The Nuggets will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead on the Heat on Friday night in Game 4.
