The wait is over.

Finally.

The Nuggets won the franchise’s first championship after beating the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Ball Arena. Denver’s NBA history started in 1976 after a successful stint in the American Basketball Association headlined by the high-flying David Thompson, who was on the court for the game’s ceremonial first shot before tipoff.

Success came quickly with Alex English, Kiki Vandeweghe and Dan Issel pouring in points in Doug Moe’s up-tempo offense. Despite making the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons, the group never made it farther than the Western Conference Finals in 1985.

“What is special is when we’re on this journey, I am thankful for Doug Moe and the guys that — players and coaches that were here in the past that have never gotten this far but I know are so proud of what we’ve achieved to this point,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said pregame.

“Guys like Doug Moe, Dan Issel, Alex English, David Thompson, you can go on and on about naming all the guys that have worn this jersey or coached this team and done a hell of a job in doing so.”

The four-plus decades of work culminated with a champagne soaked celebration in Ball Arena. The season started with training camp in Southern California. The season started with a surprising loss to Utah before the Nuggets climbed to the top of the Western Conference standings in December. They stayed atop the standings for the rest of the regular season and finished off the championship with a 16-4 run through the postseason.

“Since Day 1 in San Diego, there was something different about this team,” Finals Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic said postgame.

“I felt a different energy.”

The upset of the top-seeded SuperSonics in the first round of the 1994 postseason went down as the highlight of an otherwise unremarkable decade.

Drafting Carmelo Anthony with the third overall pick in the 2003 draft signaled a return to relevance. The Nuggets were playoff regulars once again, but the 2009 run led by Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Nene, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin ended in the conference finals once again. It was the only time during Anthony’s Denver tenure the Nuggets made it past the first round. Anthony’s trade to the Knicks in 2011 signaled the end of another Nuggets era.

The current era started in 2015 when the franchise named Michael Malone head coach ahead of Nikola Jokic’s rookie year. Denver drafted Jamal Murray in 2016 and selected Michael Porter Jr. a couple of years later. There were early growing pains, including missing out of the 2018 postseason by a single win. The franchise could’ve gone in a different direction but stuck with Malone.

“I am the beneficiary of that patience, and I’m very, very thankful for that,” Malone said pregame.

“Tim Connelly hired me and brought me to the table here, and (in) my countless conversations in my seven years with Tim, we would always talk about how we had the luxury of working for a group with Stan and Josh and the Kroenke family that is not going to be just a quick trigger. … They were willing to take a step back and see this thing through.”

Josh Kroenke, of the Nuggets’ ownership family, said there was no temptation to make a change after the young core missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season. Kroenke said he saw what he needed to from a young core. That decision paid off Monday.

“There is no shortcuts,” Jokic said. “It’s a journey. I’m glad that I’m part of their journey.”

A run of five straight playoff appearances followed. The Nuggets returned to the conference finals in 2020 but lost to the eventual-champion Lakers. Injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. in the next two seasons stunted Denver’s progress. The Nuggets completed the championship starting five by trading for Aaron Gordon in 2021 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last summer.

Denver exorcised some demons by sweeping the Lakers to reach the franchise’s first NBA Finals a couple of weeks ago.

After Denver led by as many as eight points early, Miami took a two-point lead to the second quarter. The Heat took advantage of Denver’s seven turnovers in the first 17 minutes and led by 10 midway through the second. Miami led 51-44 at halftime. The Nuggets closed within a point by the end of the third quarter and took a four-point lead early in the fourth behind Murray’s second 3. Denver increased the lead to seven with under five minutes to play. Then, Jimmy Butler took over and gave the Heat a one-point lead in the final two minutes. Bruce Brown’s offensive rebound and putback with 1:31 left gave the Nuggets the lead for good.

A couple of minutes later, the Nuggets’ 47-year wait to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy ended in Denver.

“We’re not satisfied,” Malone said postgame. “We accomplished something this franchise has never done before, but we have a lot of young talented players in that locker room, and I think we just showed through 16 playoff wins what we’re capable of on the biggest stage in the world.”