What do a 26‑win turnaround and a 43‑point playoff blowout have in common? For Carmelo Anthony, both trace back to GM Kiki Vandeweghe’s early‑2000s prophecy. On 7PM in Brooklyn, Melo argued that today’s Nuggets echo that blueprint—yet they face a brutal reminder in this postseason: history alone won’t win you a title. Today’s Nuggets look nothing like the Melo squads.
Today’s Nuggets have a clear “Batman and Robin” dynamic, with Nikola Jokic leading the charge and Jamal Murray as his perfect sidekick. Together, they’ve built a winning culture, claiming Division titles in 2019, 2020, and 2023, and bagging both the Conference and NBA Championships in 2023. Melo believes Denver’s current success mirrors GM Kiki Vandeweghe’s early‑2000s plan.
Carmelo says Vandeweghe inherited more than a roster—he inherited a vision. “Kiki Vandeway understood what type of team he was trying to build. Right? You gotta think, the Nuggets wasn’t nothing, since like ’99, since Mutombo,” Melo shared on 7PM in Brooklyn. But things shifted quickly once Melo landed in Denver. “I get through the first year, boom, now he’s on the market. Kiki comes to me and say, Melo, we got an opportunity to get a spark plug.”
Naturally, Melo was curious. Who’s the spark? “I say, who? Sheyar Smith. Whatever you gotta do,” Carmelo Anthony recalled. But he was also aware of the baggage. “I said, Kiki… you deal with Baltimore here every single day. We building this thing together.” The trust went beyond talent—it was about understanding roles.
“When you really understand… the pieces that you have to put around him that compliment him, but also that can be themselves. And Kiki allowed Denver Nuggets to be ourselves,” he said, summing up the kind of culture that was being built behind the scenes.
In fact, Kiki had been piecing it together since 2001, when he returned as Denver’s GM. He started clearing cap space, making trades, and grabbing key draft picks. It wasn’t pretty at first—just 44 wins across two seasons—but there was method to the madness.
Carmelo Anthony smiles as he talks to the media after being introduced as a member of the Naismith Class of 2025 in San Antonio, Texas Saturday April 5, 2025. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY SAT20250405102 AARONxJOSEFCZYK
Eventually, that patience paid off. By the 2003–04 season, the Nuggets exploded with 43 wins and clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1995. That 26-game leap wasn’t just impressive—it was historic, marking the biggest turnaround ever for a team coming off a sub-20-win season. And from there, Denver kicked off a decade-long playoff run—the longest in franchise history.
Looks like Carmelo Anthony wasn’t just the face of the Nuggets—he was part of a much bigger plan, one that still echoes through the success Denver’s enjoying today.
Denver has much to fight for this season
Denver’s 149-106 loss to the Thunder in Game 2 was a wake-up call. And it wasn’t their first one this postseason either. Remember the Clippers series? Denver got smacked 117-83 in Game 3, then came back swinging to win three of the next four. Sure, Oklahoma City is a tougher team than LA, but that kind of embarrassment tends to light a fire. As assistant coach David Adelman put it, the Nuggets got “punked.” The Thunder came out flying with a 30-9 run, and from there, Denver was toast.
Still, nothing comes easy in the playoffs—especially not against the team that just finished with the best regular-season record. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is making his MVP case look real strong, and he’s outplayed Nikola Jokic so far in this series. But it’s not like the Nuggets haven’t been here before. Jokic is capable of flipping the narrative—he showed that in Game 1.
If Game 2 proved anything, it’s that Jokić can’t carry the load alone. Oklahoma City’s depth showed: Chet Holmgren added 15 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes, and Jalen Williams chipped in 17, complementing Gilgeous‑Alexander’s onslaught. Meanwhile, Denver coughed up 20 turnovers to OKC’s nine, gifting easy transition opportunities and swinging momentum decisively.
“We need to be the enforcer,” guard Michael Porter Jr. declared after the loss. “We have championship pedigree. It’s time to show it.”
That said, Denver’s got to punch back, and it starts with matching OKC’s physical edge. The Thunder came in hungry, turned up the defensive heat, and the Nuggets fell apart—20 turnovers to OKC’s nine say it all. Jokic even fouled out in the third quarter, something he’s never done before. Meanwhile, SGA was getting whatever he wanted—34 points on 11-of-13 shooting? Come on.
What’s at stake? A loss in Game 3 (May 10 in Denver) could hand OKC home-court advantage and confidence to close out the series. For Denver, this is about more than advancing: it’s a proving ground for their back‑to‑back title aspirations. Matching OKC’s physicality, tightening ball security, and rallying their championship DNA won’t just salvage this series, they’ll define whether this Nuggets team truly belongs among the NBA’s elite.
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