One of the spoils of winning a title in any sport is getting to trash talk without recourse. When you reach the summit, as the Denver Nuggets did, you get to look down on all 29 other teams and remind them that they didn’t.
The Nuggets took full advantage of that opportunity this summer, as was their right. They took digs at the Lakers and paraded around with a trophy through the streets of Denver.
But equally, the Lakers — and every other team in the league — has the right to take note of that trash talk.