Here’s why the Denver Nuggets are the best game in town

Editor’s Note: This is part of The Know series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best Colorado has to offer when it comes to dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also tell you about some hidden gems.)

Ah, our glorious Nugpuppies. The Nugmeisters. The Nuggerinos.

They are Nuggerrifics, right?

He The Denver Nuggets are the best team in the city. And no, it’s not just because they won the NBA title in 2023. It’s that every time, no matter who is on the court, these Nuggets players give everything, for each other and for their fans, in a game that I enjoy watching more than anyone else.

And given that we have the number one professional basketball player in the world leading our Mile High team, I’d say my opinion is highly defensible.

Of course, other Colorado sports teams certainly go out of their way for each other and their fans, and I also enjoy watching the Rockies, Avs, and Broncos games. (Sorry, Rapids and Mammoth. I barely know you.) But there’s something exhilarating about the acrobatic moves, precise training, physical finesse and on-the-spot plays required to excel in the NBA. And since the league instituted fines in 2023, there are fewer instances of failure (looking at you, LeBron) so fans can better appreciate players’ crazy skills without being put off by their silly antics.

When I moved here from the East Coast in 1990, I quickly fell in love with the team and its players, such as LaPhonso Ellis, Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Antonio McDyess, Chauncey Billups, Chris “Birdman” Andersen, Nene, Andre Miller, Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Allen Iverson, Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Gary Harris, Will Barton and Mason Plumlee.

Nuggets fans stuck with the team season after lost season, grateful for what the players brought to our lives as representatives of the Centennial State and in love with their individual hard work and sportsmanship (well, for the most part, but we will not point fingers). here). It was fun rooting for the underdogs. For a moment.

And then, in 2015, the basketball gods and the Kroenkes smiled on us. bringing us Nikola Jokic and a year later, Jamal Murray — the dynamic duo, who taught us all what selfless play and teamwork means.

There’s simply nothing better than a slick pass from the Joker to the Blue Arrow to score a three-pointer at the end of a game and generate excitement in any sport.

Laura Keeney, a former Denver Post reporter who now lives in Rochester, New York, is such a fan that she flew back to Denver to attend an NBA Finals game and recently traveled to Philadelphia to cheer on her Nuggets.

“I would go so far as to say the Nuggets are one of the best teams in sports overall, not just in Colorado,” he said. “Sure, they’re all pretty nice people who play with a physicality that almost guarantees the games will be full of excitement, but the same could be said for any of our Colorado teams.

“For me, the x-factor with the Nuggets has to be that they play for each other, rather than stroking superstar egos and fighting for individual glory. We have a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Jokic (which is reason alone to mark him #1), but even rarer is that he’s surrounded by a group of guys who selflessly put each other first, and They really seem like each other. It’s a rare and beautiful thing to see a team truly function as a team, regardless of its superstar.

“I truly believe that the culture that Moach (coach Michael Malone) has built in that locker room will go down in history and will be studied for years to come. Now, let’s run it again and get the next chip, okay?