After receiving their NBA championship rings on Tuesday night, the Nuggets defeated the Lakers at home in Denver at Ball Arena.
NBA Finals MVP big man Nikola Jokic returned to his elite form during the game against Los Angeles, recording a triple-double during his first game of the season.
During the fourth quarter of the victory, Nuggets fans began showering the court with an overwhelmingly loud chant. Even on the television broadcast, those watching at home could clearly hear those in the arena shouting “Who’s your daddy?” at the Lakers.
“Who’s your daddy?” chant breaks out to end this Nuggets-Lakers season opener. pic.twitter.com/ewAstHHqc4
— Mike Singer (@msinger) October 25, 2023
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray reacted appropriately when he heard it.
At first, the guard made a shocked face as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing:
Jamal Murray to Coach Malone while the fans were chanting "Who's your daddy": "This is you! This is your fault!" 😂pic.twitter.com/38fy3OEpQH
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) October 25, 2023
Then, he flagged down Nuggets head coach Mike Malone and put the blame on him. Here is what he said:
“This is you. This is your fault. … We gotta go to [indecipherable] and this is what you started.”
Murray then shared a laugh with Malone, though his assessment probably isn’t entirely incorrect.
During the playoffs last season, Malone called out the media for attempting to spin some sort of narrative about the Lakers. Malone was then introduced at the parade as “the Lakers daddy” after the Nuggets won the title.
As my colleague Prince Grimes wrote, it seems that the Lakers vs. Nuggets have a chance to become the best rivalry in the Western Conference.
