The Denver Nuggets officially ended their 47-year drought and won their first NBA Finals in franchise history. Nikola Jokic took home the World Cup Finals Player of the Year award while Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr had key moments in the bag. However, there is one little-known hero who deserves the highest praise. This would be none other than Bruce Brown. Brown has been a regular starter all season for the Nuggets and has a player option this season. Many speculated if the Browns would leave for more money, but during the celebration, Brown admitted he wanted to come back and help Denver compete for another championship.
Bruce Brown admits to wanting to return to the Nuggets while celebrating
Bruce Brown: The Unsung Champion in the Denver Playoff
Brown was the energy man off the bench for the Nuggets. Despite being the sixth man, during the playoff run he averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 total rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Not to mention, he averaged a field goal percentage of 51.1 percent. He had several spare moments throughout this run including a huge offensive rebound in the closing moments of Game 5 that turned the momentum back in Denver’s favor. We haven’t even talked about his stellar performance in his four game scoring 21 points off the bench, including a dagger-hung backwards three-point shot that sealed the Nuggets deal. Every postseason, the Browns stepped up when he was needed most, and as a result, he would be heavily labeled a free agent if the Nuggets couldn’t keep him.
The Browns fit in with the Denver Nuggets
If the Denver Nuggets lose Bruce Brown in free agency, it will be a huge blow to their second unit. The head coach, Michael Malone, believed in him to move him to point guard and turned a huge profit. It is a stabilizing force that can play a clutch effect. One could argue that Brown is one of the more consistent players on the Nuggets’ relatively flawed bench all season.
Malone famously called him in the last off-season asking why he wasn’t signed anywhere to which he replied that no one had contacted him. Now, both Bruce Brown and Michael Malone are NBA champions which has left many NBA teams kicking themselves for not taking a chance on the young guard with so much upside. All in all, Bruce Brown and the Denver Nuggets was a basketball match made in heaven that was a huge part in Denver’s road to the NBA Finals.