The champagne is dried up and wiped up around various places in Ball Arena.

As attention turns to the Denver Nuggets’ victory parade on Thursday, the question of whether the club can make it back to the big stage looms large.

For sure, the team plans to celebrate the franchise’s first title for days on end. But Nuggets coach Michael Malone made clear in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s series-clinching 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat that only one NBA championship in Denver isn’t sufficient.

“I’ve got news for everybody out there,” he said during his on-court postgame interview. “We’re not satisfied with one. We want more. We want more.”

Realistically, such a lofty goal could prove daunting considering we’ve seen five different champions crowned over the last five seasons, with the Golden State Warriors owning the distinction of being the last repeat winners (2017, 2018). Despite the West taking 17 of the last 25 NBA championships, just seven franchises overall have successfully defended their titles.

That’s not to say the Nuggets can’t.

With champagne dripping and still sticky on their skin, multiple players vowed to not rest on their laurels going into 2023-24 still dizzy from a championship hangover.

“I told myself if and when we win, I’m going to do exactly what we and I did to get to this point,” forward Aaron Gordon said. “I’m going to celebrate, but I’m going to continue to work smarter, harder and more efficient.”

The coaching staff plans to put in the hard work, too, after plenty of hard partying of course, starting with a critical self-evaluation of the campaign the club just concluded.

“You always have to challenge yourself to look in the mirror and get better, and that’s something I think myself and the coaching staff throughout eight years have done every season,” Malone said. “Whenever that previous season is over, we take some time away. Then, we get back together in the summer and take a really honest, in-depth look and figure out what are our weaknesses, what are our blind spots, how do we improve? It’s hypocritical to tell your players to come back better players, but [you’re] not willing to come back a better coach.

“I remember a few years ago sitting down with Wes Unseld [Jr.] and looking a lot at our defense and coming to the realization that we had to simplify things. We’ll find a way to look at ourselves and try to be even better next season.”

Here’s a quick look at some steps Denver can take toward maximizing its prospects for a return trip to the NBA Finals:

1. Stay on message

Denver’s explosive offense generates plenty of headlines, but if we’re keeping it a buck, it was the Nuggets defense that won this title thanks to Malone’s consistent demand for maximum focus and effort on that end of the court. The Nuggets finished the postseason No. 1 in offensive rating (118.2), but they weren’t far behind defensively at No. 4 (110.2).

Colleague John Schuhmann points out that despite Denver finishing the regular season ranked No. 15 on defense in the regular season — the lowest regular-season defensive ranking for an NBA champion in the last 22 years — the 100 points per 100 possessions allowed over the last three games of the NBA Finals were the fewest given up by this team over any three-game stretch all season. So, Denver proved its capable of performing at a high level defensively on the biggest stage, and Malone needs to continue to push the Nuggets on that end if this team expects to seriously compete for another title.

2. Keep the core group together

Smartly, the Nuggets built a major part of the team on a foundation of defensive versatility, using trades, free agency and the Draft to bring in big guards (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and Christian Braun) capable of defending at a high level on the wings. Brown wants to return to Denver, saying “for sure” when asked about the possibility. But there’s a chance he’ll decline the player option on his deal to become an unrestricted free agent. Veteran Jeff Green is also set to hit free agency. It’s important for the Nuggets to bring back both players.

“He’s going to get paid is what he’s going to do,” Gordon joked of Brown. “My man [is] fixing to get a bag.”

Brown certainly deserves it after lighting up Miami with 21 points off the bench, including 11 in the fourth quarter of Game 4, outscoring the Heat bench 16-14 by himself in the second half.  He’s proven to be a key supporting cast member for a team that features the two-time Kia MVP in Nikola Jokic and an emerging star at point guard in Jamal Murray playing alongside Michael Porter Jr., Caldwell-Pope and Gordon.

3. Take the next steps

Murray still experiences bouts of trepidation coming off his 2021 ACL tear and Porter has been dogged by back injuries the majority of his five-year tenure in the NBA. Remember, Murray sat out all last season while Porter played in just nine games. Now that they’re fairly healthy again, they’ll grind all this offseason to come back even stronger than what we saw in 2022-23.

“I still have moments where I’m tentative to do certain actions, rebounding among everybody,” Murray said. “But I’ve just gotten so much better at that and just putting that behind. Not just me, but Mike, too. Shoutout to Mike. He’s gone through so many different injuries, and to see him constantly locked in, be a team player, grow his game in different aspects, [and] have an all-around game even if he’s not shooting well. It’s just really great to see the growth of this team.”

That needs to continue as Denver morphs from hunter to the hunted after capturing its first title.

Porter’s struggles as a shooter in the NBA Finals may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as it forced the forward to impact the game in other ways. Interestingly, people seem to forget about Porter’s ridiculous athleticism that has been somewhat sapped away by the back injuries. Keep in mind Porter is just 24 years old, and there’s a good chance he’ll regain most of that athleticism at some point. Throw that in with Porter’s continued development and growing knowledge of the game, and you can expect Denver to once again be cooking with hot grease in 2023-24.

“My jumper was broke all series,” Porter said. “I didn’t play well offensively to my capabilities. But they know what I’m capable of. They see me every day in practice. The confidence they were giving me every day was what good teammates do. I just kept playing hard. All you can control is your effort.”

Braun is another player poised to take steps in his development for a more significant role next season after a stellar rookie campaign. You should also keep an eye on 20-year old Peyton Watson, who will likely join Denver’s rotation next season, as well as Collin Gillespie. Braun and Gillespie won national championships in college.

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