Head coach Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets are looking to expand upon what they accomplished in 2022-23, when they won the franchise its first-ever NBA championship. While the Nuggets are mostly bringing back the same core that won the title a year ago, Malone knows that they will have to be even sharper if they hope to do it for a second straight time.

“We talked about doing something that hasn’t been done since the Golden State Warriors: winning back-to-back titles,” said Malone, per Tony Jones of The Athletic. “How do we do that? By working. By not skipping steps. We have to realize that last year is over and that we can’t live in the past. We won a championship, the first in 47 years. We’re excited for ring night, to get those rings.”

The Nuggets are led on the sidelines by Malone and on the court by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who had one of the greatest individual postseason runs in NBA history last spring, winning Finals MVP in the process. Jokic is supported by point guard Jamal Murray and an array of solid role players, including Michael Porter, Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and others.

As things currently stand, the Nuggets figure to be the clear favorites to come out of the Western Conference and perhaps to win it all, despite recent additions made by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.

Still, Michael Malone knows that the team will be playing with fire if they decide to rest on their laurels.