Bruce Brown shares heartfelt goodbye message to Denver

Aug 22, 2023, 12:09 PM | Updated: 4:17 pm

Denver Sports Analyst

Very few Denver Nuggets players have ever fallen in love with the Mile High City the way Bruce Brown did this past year, now he’s saying goodbye.

Brown’s one-year spurt with the Nuggets saw the five-year pro become an extremely valuable and versatile role player who propelled Denver to its first-ever hoops title. But because Brown was so good, he opted out of his contract, seeking a bigger payday and the market offered him more in a single year than the Nuggets could in total, thanks to a quirk in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Brown signed a two-year, $45M deal with the Indiana Pacers, as free agency opened. Why it took a few months for him to say goodbye to Denver is unknown and doesn’t really matter—but he loves us so much he was seen in the Highlands over the weekend giving away a tray of shots at pizza joint Happy Camper.

“DENVER! To my teammate and coaches I appreciate the year we had together couldn’t ask for a better group to be around 24/7 love y’all,” Brown wrote on Instagram. “To the fans Thank you for the love and support throughout this year never felt anything like that before! Also to all the friends I made in the city I will definitely miss the laughs and just the great vibes we always had! ALL LOVE ❤️ BRUCIE B OUT!!”

In the post, he shared a photoshopped picture of him as a baby wearing Nuggets gear next to Nikola Jokic as a baby wearing Nuggets gear. Brown also tagged a lot of behind-the-scenes Nuggets workers in the post, showing just how much this team had everyone making an impact on each other.

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A post shared by Bruce Brown Jr. (@brucebrown)

“My brother! Enjoyed every second, good luck with the next chapter CHAMP BB! 🏆 🤠” Nuggets veteran center DeAndre Jordan wrote back.

A few other Nuggets, Christian Braun and Collin Gillespie, also left comments on the post.

Brown signed in the summer of 2022 to play in Denver after two years where the Brooklyn Nets couldn’t really figure out how to use him but knew he was a good player. Brown was a point guard out of Miami but struggled in his first two pro seasons with the Pistons. He has noted that he has a lot of respect for the Nuggets for giving him a real chance with the ball in his hands as a playmaker, something that is not assured elsewhere.

Brown’s 11.5 points per game were a career-high, he also tallied 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest while playing 80 games. In the postseason he played both as a backup point guard and as a three-and-d wing.

Against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals Brown made D’Angelo Russell disappear thanks to his contributions on both ends and some smack talk. The Lakers of course got swept by the Nuggets and were one of many teams interested in Brown.

During the champagne showers and parade, Brown said he wanted to come back. That obviously didn’t happen and maybe part of him still wishes he took a massive pay cut to come back, but who knows—there’s likely always a spot for Brown in Denver if it works for both sides. For now, Denver spent a big part of its offseason looking at options for filling in Brown’s role—including their big picks during draft night.

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