White, Nuggets celebrate NBA Championship

Written by Melbourne United Media

Former Melbourne United star Jack White, along with the Denver Nuggets, have taken home basketball’s ultimate prize, an NBA Championship.

The Nuggets overcame the Miami Heat on Tuesday, securing the 4-1 series victory with a 94-89 win in front of their home fans. The Championship is the franchise’s first since it was founded in 1967.

YOUR DENVER NUGGETS ARE THE 2023 NBA CHAMPIONS 🏆#bRINGItIn pic.twitter.com/aOHqbUYwOx

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 13, 2023

White, who played two seasons with Melbourne United, where he enjoyed an NBL Championship victory in NBL21, did not appear in the playoffs due to his Two-Way contract, but remained with the team every step of the way, going hard against his teammates in practice to keep them prepared for whatever came their way.

Speaking to MU Media before the NBA Finals, White touched on how special it felt to be a part of the Nuggets group, despite his inability to suit up.

“It’s special,” he said.

“It’s definitely different, obviously not playing and having to deal with that as a competitor is tough, especially when you see your teammates out there battling for the goal that we set forth at the start of the year, but honestly I’m just proud of this group.

“Since training camp we set these goals: getting the number one seed, having home court advantage and winning a Championship. To be taking steps towards that, for all the puzzle pieces to be coming together at the right time, guys being healthy, it just feels like we’re right where we’re meant to be and that’s a special feeling.”

White appeared in 17 games for Denver across the season, while spending the majority of him time with the organisation’s G-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold.

The athletic forward showcased his full repertoire with the Gold, where he averaged 19.2 points and 9.4 rebounds on 43.8% shooting from deep in 26 games.

White joins Luc Longley (1996, 1997, 1998), Andrew Gaze (1999), Patty Mills (2014), Aron Baynes (2014), Andrew Bogut (2015) and returning United star Matthew Dellavedova (2016) as Australians to win an NBA Championship.