The Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy makes a surprise appearance at WWE Raw
The basketball and wrestling worlds collided again when the NBA's Larry O'Brien Trophy appeared on WWE RAW, a TV program under the wrestling entertainment brand. The league's official account on Twitter recently released a video of the trophy touring around the backstage area.
WWE's Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, superstars Finn Bálor, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Becky Lynch, backstage interviewer Cathy Kelley, and ring announcer Samantha Irvin all held the coveted award and posed with it.
Here's the clip of the Larry O'Brien Trophy visiting WWE RAW's backstage area on Monday:
The NBA and WWE have frequently collaborated previously to promote each other's brands. Stars like Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O'Neal, and many others have appeared in the ring too.
With the Finals just under a week away, the league made a promotion tour for the penultimate series by sending the eventual prize on a WWE Raw backstage trip.
Several prominent figures from the wrestling company, including "Triple H," retweeted the video on their handles too.
NBA championship trophy could have a brand new recipient this season in the Denver Nuggets
There are 30 teams in the NBA. However, only some have had the glorious opportunity to hold the Larry O'Brien Trophy as a winner. Notably, 12 teams are yet to win the championship, including the Pacers, Pelicans, Nets, Magic, Clippers, Jazz, Hornets, Nuggets, Suns, Grizzlies, Thunder and Timberwolves.
The Denver Nuggets could be the newest league winners this season. Led by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets finished the season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, boasting a 53-29 record.
Denver steamrolled past their opponents in the conference playoffs bracket. They met the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one, knocking them out in five games. The Phoenix Suns stretched the series to six against the Nuggets in the conference semis.
Michael Malone's team put together their most clinical performance in recent memory against LeBron James and the LA Lakers in the Western Conference finals, sweeping them 4-0. The Nuggets swept a team for the first time in their history and booked their maiden Finals appearance.
Now they have a chance to create more history. The Nuggets will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the Finals this year. Denver will likely enter as the favorite to win the contest against either opponent.
The Celtics have been inconsistent, while the Heat would be only the second eighth seed in NBA history to make the Finals.