The Denver Outlaws weren’t supposed to be good in 2016. When Eric Law scored a miraculous goal in the final seconds of the MLL Championship Game, it secured the legacy of a uniquely built team that made lacrosse history.

Eight years later, the revived Outlaws are channeling many of the same threads that led Denver to the second of its three MLL crowns.

The 2016 Outlaws were a seemingly average squad. Coming off a mediocre 7-7 season, they didn’t have the look of a true championship team. Then, after a slow start, they went full rebuild mode in June when they made one of the biggest trades possible.

Sitting at 2-5, Denver traded John Grant Jr. -- the all-time leading goal-scorer in professional lacrosse -- to the Ohio Machine for goalie Adam Fullerton and a second-round pick. Grant was in his early 40s, but he was still one of the most productive players in the league.

The Grant trade signaled the Outlaws were out of contention and looking toward the future. A blowout loss to the Boston Cannons seemed to secure that fate.

Then things changed.

Denver rattled off six straight wins to end the regular season, miraculously vaulting into the playoffs. That magic continued into the postseason, and the Outlaws bested the Machine and Grant Jr. in the championship game.

Those Outlaws were one of the youngest teams to ever play for an MLL championship. To reach the title game, it took a unique combination of grit, youth and experience.

Grit and hard work have always been tentpoles of Denver’s culture. In 2016, the Outlaws grinded until the end and never stopped fighting. They kept pushing after dropping to 2-6 and made the playoffs.

And that fight continued into the championship game. Denver trailed by seven at the half, but through brutal weather conditions battled to win 19-18 when Law scored the go-ahead goal with 12.9 seconds remaining. 

The mentality was partnered with a group of fresh-faced young players. The Outlaws’ 2016 rookie class changed the dynamic of the team and powered the playoff run.

Attackman Matt Kavanagh led the team in playoff scoring and provided a punch in the lineup down the stretch. Defenseman BJ Grill became an integral piece of Denver’s reshaped defensive unit. Perhaps most important was seventh-round goalie Jack Kelly. 

Kelly became one of the best goalies in the league when he took over the starting job. He saved 54.5% of the shots he faced in the regular season and became a rock for the Outlaws.

Attackman Wes Berg, midfielder Nick Ossello and faceoff specialist Tommy Kelly also helped form the new young core of the championship team.

Even with all of the youth, Denver still had a core of veterans to support. Drew Snider, Jeremy Sieverts, Matt and Mike Bocklett and even Law had multiple years of experience for the young players to lean on.

It’s not hard to see how the 2024 Outlaws mirror Denver’s 2016 championship team.

The foundational rookies are the clearest parallels. The 2016 Outlaws had one of the best rookie classes in history, and this year’s group has the potential to be even better.

Brennan O’Neill and Jake Piseno were both All-Stars and should only continue to improve in the second half. Graham Bundy Jr. and Josh Zawada have both shown plenty of production in their young careers. Faceoff specialist Luke Wierman is already one of the best in the world at his position.

And like in 2016, it’s not just the rookies. Sam Handley and Owen McElroy are among several players in their first few seasons of professional lacrosse still looking to break through.

The veteran pieces are also there. The defense is led by experience, and the offense just added a piece who knows what an Outlaws championship team looks like: Law.

“This team I'm joining reminds me a lot of some of those Outlaws teams,” Law said after being released by the New York Atlas and claimed by Denver last week.

The biggest similarity between the old Outlaws and the current group is the culture. Even through the struggles with the Chrome, this group always fought hard and built a brotherhood. As the roster turns over and tries to finally win, that foundation will play a large part.

Even if it wasn’t built by the same group that constructed the original Denver culture, the core values are the same.

“I think Coach [Tim] Soudan has always had a team that has a great culture and a great locker room and great set of character guys,” Law said.

After an inconsistent 2-2 start punctuated by a 17-4 loss to the league-leading Atlas, it’s time for the 2024 Outlaws to find their feet and kick on toward the playoff push. The high-end flashes have been there, but so have the lows that sent this team to a last-place finish a season ago.

To really capture the magic of the 2016 squad, this year’s team needs to put everything together when it matters most.