“Once Giannis Antetokounmpo Went Out, East Had No Chance”: 3x All-Star Predicted Jimmy Butler’s Heat’s Collapse Before Nuggets’ First Championship

Gilbert Arenas, a former Washington Wizards star sat down with VladTV before the 2023 NBA finals. The 3-times All-Star player made some interesting comments about the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s team from the Finals. He also made a prediction before the finals that Miami Heat would lose to the Denver Nuggets in the seven games series. According to Arenas, the Greek Freak was the only player in the East who had the ability to take over the game on both ends of the floor. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic dominated the Miami Heat and won the NBA Finals by a 4-1 margin.

Arenas is himself one of the most successful second-round draft pick players. He has won the Most Improved Player award and a few All-NBA team selections. It’s not a surprise that his predictions came true. 

Gilbert Arenas predicted that with Giannis out Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets were going to win the NBA Finals

The former Washington Wizards player Gilbert Arenas hit the bull’s eye when he predicted the impact of Giannis’ exit from the East. According to Arenas, the Eastern Conference had the top players in the league Greek Freak and Joel Embiid. With them out of the picture, it would be too much for the Heat to handle Denver’s duo. This is what Areans said about the NBA Finals:

“Once Giannis went out, the East really had no chance of winning this year’s championship because he was the only really dominant force that can only take over the game offense and defensively. And that was the only team that was championship built.”

He said that the second team in the Eastern Conference was the Philadelphia 76ers, but they did not play hard enough to compete for the title.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray put up historic numbers in the NBA Finals

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray might have performed at an unprecedented level in NBA Finals history. Both stars were out on the court, playing with the emotions of Heat fans. Game 3 of the finals was a testament to their dominant performance throughout the postseason and just the finals. Jokic and Murray both had a 30-point triple-double in the game. 

Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. These numbers are unrealistic and haven’t been achieved by any player before in the finals. Murray, on the other hand, was clutch throughout the postseason. How can someone forget the fashion in which he took out the Lakers’ hearts in the Western Conference finals? He continued his streak in the finals as well. The Nuggets have a young core, and the way they have performed throughout the last season makes it seem like they are going to continue dominating the West.