The Denver Nuggets are bailing on their NBA title win celebrations with President Joe Biden. Per Bleacher Report‘s NBA insider Chris Haynes, the franchise won’t visit the White House, as is customary for American sports teams that win championships, due to a schedule conflict.
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Haynes reported that the Nuggets intended to visit the White House on March 18th. However, they are scheduled to face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are locked in a battle with Denver and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the #1 seed in the Western Conference, on March 19th. The Nuggets will prioritize the critical game in their bid to finish atop the West over a trip to Washington to celebrate their 2023 title win.
Haynes added the Denver Nuggets intended to visit the White House in late January but rescheduled the trip to March 18th. However, their proximity to the Timberwolves in the standings prompted them to focus on winning in Minnesota. He added that the move isn’t politically driven and is solely a sporting decision.
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The Nuggets are the fourth championship-winning team in the last seven seasons to skip the trip to the White House. The Golden State Warriors opted not to visit in 2017 and 2018 due to their disagreement with former President Donald Trump’s policies. The Toronto Raptors also skipped the trip as they are a Canadian franchise, while the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t visit due to COVID-19 restrictions and scheduling conflicts.
The Milwaukee Bucks ended the four-year hiatus of NBA championship winners celebrating in the White House and met President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in November 2021. The Warriors followed suit and met the Commander-in-Chief in January 2023.
The Nuggets skipping the White House trip is unfortunate, but the game against the Timberwolves could be critical in the final standings, so their decision is understandable.
The battle for the top spot in the West
While the Boston Celtics are the runaway leaders in the East, four franchises are vying for the top spot in the West. The top three teams in the Western Conference standings are separated by 0.5 games.
The Oklahoma City Thunder hold the top spot with a 43-19 record, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are second at 44-20. The 43-20 Nuggets could make it a three-way tie at the top with a win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Fourth-placed Los Angeles Clippers boast a 40-21 record and are 2.5 games behind OKC.
With less than 20 games left in the schedule for the top three teams, every game has become critical. If two teams finish with the same record, their head-to-head record against each other will become the tiebreaker. The Denver Nuggets and Timberwolves have played once this season and the latter won convincingly.
They are scheduled to face each other thrice between March 19th and April 10th. The Timberwolves need only one win to ensure they don’t lose the season series. The second tiebreaker is the division record, which won’t affect the top three teams, as they are all in the Northwest division.
Given the circumstances, it’s unsurprising that the Nuggets have prioritized the season series against the Timberwolves over a trip to Washington. Things are heating up atop the Western Conference standings and Denver has made it evident that they’re avoiding all distractions and focusing on the task at hand.
