Nuggets Secret to Playing Championship Basketball Without a Superstar

That’s right, the last line read championship contender. The Nuggets hold the second seed in the Western Conference with a 12-5 record, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are widely believed to boast the most talented roster in the entire league.

What’s Denver’s secret?

A dash of Danilo Gallinari, a pinch of Ty Lawson, a dose of Nene Hilario, a snippet of Timofey Mozgov, a dab of Andre Miller, a speck of Rudy Fernandez, an iota of Al Harrington and a smidgen of Arron Afflalo. Confused? Stunned? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

The Nuggets have played sensational this season, and not only are they amounting to be one of the top teams in the league nearly a year removed from dealing their franchise cornerstone in Carmelo Anthony, but are also down two key players from last season in Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith. Arguing against that being impressive demonstrates you’re severely misguided

Denver seems to have concocted a new recipe where not only is the team not built around superstars, but it lacks them entirely. Coming into the season, Nene was the Nugget that held the most clout, but despite what his paycheck reads, he is no superstar. Is he superb? Of course. Is he on the same level as Dwight Howard or Blake Griffin? No.

But that’s okay, because he doesn’t need to be. No one on Denver needs to be. This team has the most balanced attack in the entire league, and it’s effective. There is hardly any isolation on offense, barely a trace of defensive incompetency and the term “egotistical” isn’t in the Nuggets’ vocabulary.

What Denver has is a mixed group of veterans and youngsters who have love to play the game and have a thirst for teamwork. Thus far, that has proved to be a winning combination.

The Nuggets are fresh off an impressive double-overtime victory against the New York Knicks, and while those in orange and blue may be reeling, the fact that Denver was away from its home court and playing without Afflalo and Fernandez cannot be discounted. It’s a testament to this team’s depth as well as its will to win.

Star power can be a blessing, but as the Knicks, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers have all showed us at different times, it can also result in disaster. Superstar powerhouses are latent with talent, but also egos. Everyone is looking to get theirs in addition to winning. There’s none of that on the Nuggets though.

Gallinari, Denver’s leading scorer, could care less if he gets his 17.4 points per game as long his team wins. And the unselfishness is contagious.

Still not a believer? Take a look at Harrington. For the better part of his career, his job has been to get the ball and shoot it. Under George Karl, especially over the last 11 months, not only is he more willing to pass, but there’s a visible effort from him on defense. That’s more than impressive.

There are those who will argue that the Nuggets have two stars-to-be in Gallinari and Lawson, and they are correct, yet only to an extent. These two already exhibit star-like talent, but keep in mind their skills are being honed in this unselfish system. While they may play like superstars, as long as they are in Denver, they will never maintain the mindset of one.

Franchise cornerstones and heralded superstars are great, but satisfying their appetite for self-satisfaction can be exhausting and cancerous to a team’s cohesion. What happens to a team sans a star caliber talent? Sometimes they wind up like the Charlotte Bobcats, searching for an identity without a leg of direction to stand on.

Other times though, they wind up like the Nuggets, or in other words, emulating an incorruptible entity poised for success.