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The 2022-2023 Denver Nuggets are NBA champions, and deservedly so.

This was a team largely built through the draft, with some smart trades and free-agent signings mixed in.

Waiting for key players such as Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. to return from major injuries was worth it in the end, as the Nuggets dominated the 2023 postseason, culminating in a gentleman’s sweep of the Miami Heat.

With the dust settled, how does Denver stack up against previous champions?

When comparing playoff record, net rating, opponents and overall team strengths, here’s where the Nuggets land among the last five NBA champions.

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Finals Result: Raptors over Golden State Warriors, 4-2

Playoff Win/Loss: 16-8

Playoff Net Rating: plus-5.6

The Raptors were the surprising champions of the 2019 season for a number of reasons.

Their opponents, the Warriors, were the unquestioned favorites having steamrolled through the playoffs the past two years. Kawhi Leonard was in his first season with the Raptors and starting center Marc Gasol was acquired just months earlier at the trade deadline.

Along with Danny Green, who was brought over in the Leonard trade, 60 percent of this starting lineup wasn’t even with Toronto the year before. Even Pascal Siakam, the team’s opening power forward and second-leading scorer in the Finals, hadn’t started a playoff game until the 2019 postseason.

This was the first title in Raptors history after coming so close in previous runs with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Leonard ended up being a rental, signing with the Los Angeles Clippers just weeks later. Of course, even one championship meant that the trade was worth it.

While no one is saying Toronto didn’t deserve to win, it’s also fair to point out Kevin Durant’s absence in the series. Missing the first four games with a calf injury, he then tore his Achilles just 12 minutes into Game 5. After winning Finals MVP the previous two years, he was limited to just 11 total points in this series.

This wasn’t a deep Warriors team, either, so not having Durant was a huge loss for Golden State, which still managed to win Games 2 and 5.

Toronto ended the series with six players averaging double-digits, led by Leonard’s 28.5 points per contest. As good as these Raptors were, they would fall short against any of the other healthy champions on this list.

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Finals Result: Warriors over Boston Celtics, 4-2

Playoff Win/Loss: 16-6

Playoff Net Rating: plus-4.9

The Warriors dynasty proved it was still alive and well in 2022 following a three-year title drought, although this version looked different than in years past.

Out was Kevin Durant. Taking his place were Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, players who finished as the team’s second (18.3 points) and fourth (13.2 points) leading scorers, respectively.

Of course, Stephen Curry was at the heart of the championship, taking home his first Finals MVP with averages of 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals and a 43.7 percent mark from three.

This was title No. 4 for this core after previously defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

“They are all unique, they are all special,” head coach Steve Kerr said via The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “I think this one may have been the most unlikely just from the standpoint of where we’ve been the last couple years.”

Indeed, going from the worst team in the NBA to winning a title was impressive, especially after reinventing the team after Durant’s departure.

Golden State also had to come back from a 2-1 deficit to the Celtics, winning the final three contests while holding Boston to 97 points or less.

Despite all of this, the 2022 Warriors were far from the best team of the past five years. They rank last in net rating among the champs, got poor offensive performances from Klay Thompson (35.6 percent shooting) and Draymond Green (33.3 percent) and looked far removed from the juggernaut of years past.

This was a great Golden State team overall but still not the best we’ve seen as of late.

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Finals Result: Lakers over Miami Heat, 4-2

Playoff Win/Loss: 16-5

Playoff Net Rating: plus-6.9

The 2020 Lakers were certainly the most unique champions of the past five years, taking home their title on October 11, 2020 in Walt Disney World.

The champions of the bubble that was constructed after the NBA’s COVID-19 shutdown, Los Angeles’ title tied them with the Boston Celtics with 17, the most by any franchise in league history.

While this Lakers team featured a plethora of talented role players, the Finals truly came down to the play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Both averaged double-doubles in the six-game series, with James posting 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists while Davis put in 25.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocks.

This marked James’ fourth title and Finals MVP, capping off a season that lasted more than a calendar year from the time training camps opened in the fall of 2019.

The Heat were forced to play shorthanded at times, though, as starting point guard Goran Dragić missed four games with a foot injury. Bam Adebayo, Miami’s leading scorer at 22.3 points per game, missed a pair of contests as well with neck and shoulder issues.

The Lakers’ impressive final net rating and their mental and physical resilience to be the last team standing in such a challenging environment should be commended, however.

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Finals Result: Bucks over Phoenix Suns, 4-2

Playoff Win/Loss: 16-7

Playoff Net Rating: plus-5.3

The 2021 Bucks had it all.

An MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, defensive aces with Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, a reliable second scorer in Khris Middleton and some of the toughest dudes in the league with P.J. Tucker and Bobby Portis.

This was a case of when “going all-in” actually goes right, as the trade for Holiday was costly but proved to be the missing piece to place alongside Antetokounmpo and Middleton. Not only did he play excellent defense, but Holiday also averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.2 steals in the Finals.

Milwaukee’s 106.8 defensive rating was the best of any 2021 playoff team, holding the Suns to 103 points or less in three of the final four games.

Of course, Antetokounmpo was the star attraction here, averaging over 35.0 points per game for the series, including a monster 50-point performance to secure the title in Game 6.

This was a very good Suns opponent as well, one that featured an All-Star in Chris Paul along with Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson.

Despite an inferior overall record and net rating to the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee gets the nod here due to having to go through a superior, healthy team in the Finals.

The Bucks’ ability to climb out of an 0-2 hole and win four straight games was also impressive, placing them at No. 2 overall on this list.

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Finals Result: Nuggets over Miami Heat, 4-1

Playoff Win/Loss: 16-4

Playoff Net Rating: plus-8.0

After looking vulnerable after the All-Star break, Denver locked in once the postseason began.

A 16-4 record is the best of any title winner over the last five years, as is the Nuggets’ plus-8.0 net rating. No other NBA playoff team finished more than three games above .500 (the Miami Heat at 13-10) while the Boston Celtics’ net rating of plus-3.2 was the closest to Denver overall.

The Nuggets were nearly unbeatable at home, going 9-1 overall this postseason while not dropping a single game in Denver until the Finals. They swept a good Los Angeles Lakers team featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis while previously disposing of stars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.

There was also an organic beauty to this Nuggets team. From drafting Nikola Jokić with the 41st pick in 2014 and watching him develop into a Finals MVP to staying patient when Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. missed time with serious injuries, this was an easy team to root for.

Of course, playing against Denver was anything but.

The combo of Jokić and Murray on offense is one of the best we’ve seen over the last few decades, an unstoppable scoring force from anywhere on the floor. A shaky regular-season defense tightened up in the playoffs, as a 110.2 rating was a 3.3-point improvement, proving the Nuggets were equally dangerous on both ends of the floor.

No team has looked as dominant as these Nuggets since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors, with this franchise set up to win for years to come.