Getty Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke about the Nuggets winning their first NBA title in a press conference on June 13.
The Denver Broncos have been a constant source of support for the Denver Nuggets during their NBA playoff run. The Nuggets won their first-ever NBA title on June 12 by defeating the Miami Heat in five games.
Commemorating the start of mandatory minicamp on June 13, new Broncos head coach Sean Payton held a press conference to speak about his team. But it was seemingly the Nuggets that were the recurring theme throughout the presser.
Payton said the Nuggets’ championship run will be memorable and have a significant impact on Denver.
“It’s tremendous for the city — there’s nothing like it,” Payton said. “To have the confetti fall on those guys for what they achieved, special. We always use this term: ‘Walk together forever.’ That team will — forever.”
The Nuggets have caught the eye of Payton since he signed with the Broncos in February. In fact, Payton was in attendance to watch the Nuggets’ Game 5 win.
During his presser, Payton also touched on winning a championship as head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2009. With that and the Nuggets’ recent title run in mind, Payton said his ambition to win factored in him signing with Denver.
“Last night, being in that moment watching them (the Nuggets) enjoy it — there’s just nothing like it,” Payton said. “It’s just borderline obsessed.”
The now-16-year NFL head coach knows winning a championship is no easy feat in any sport. Because of that, Payton said the feeling of winning it all is so exciting that he wants everyone around him to experience it.
“You know that fulfillment [you get] when you give a great gift [to] someone and they’re like, ‘Freakin’ A’? Where you take them somewhere and it’s everything?” Payton said. “It’s the same thing, but just times 100,000.
Broncos Players Take Notice of Nuggets’ Big Win
Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has supported the Nuggets since his Denver arrival last year. He was once again in attendance for Game 5 of the Finals and even shared a moment with Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. postgame.
The Nuggets’ title run serves as a stark reminder that the Broncos haven’t had a playoff appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016, marking the second-longest current playoff drought in the NFL.
That’s top of mind for Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton, who signed a three-year, $18 million deal in March and is slated for a significant role with the Broncos in 2023. He said the Nuggets’ win is a telling reminder that the Broncos can’t repeat their 2022 season in which they finished 5-12.
“I think last night kind of speaks for itself about what you want in the city, so it was pretty easy for us to come in here today and be motivated,” Singleton said during his June 13 press conference. “Like, let’s not do what we did last year. Let’s do that (win a championship).”
Tim Patrick Using Jamal Murray as Motivation
The Nuggets’ title might even be more inspiring to Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick because of his unfortunate similarity to point guard Jamal Murray.
Murray tore the ACL in his left knee in April 2021. Patrick suffered the same injury in training camp (except in his right knee) before the start of the 2022 season.
Patrick said he’s using Murray as a source of hope as the former Utah Ute makes his return to the football field in 2023.
“It was a good sight to see from somebody that’s playing in the same city as you, that went through the same thing you did and now he’s on the mountaintop,” Patrick said of Murray during his June 13 presser. “It’s definitely motivation seeing them win and especially seeing him win.”
The 29-year-old noted that he has never spoken to Murray because he’s “not the talking type.” But Patrick said that Murray proved a lot of people wrong in his comeback from injury, and he hopes to do the same.
“I just watch from a distance,” Patrick said. “I’m happy that they (the Nuggets) won and I’m happy he (Murray) was able to win and prove people wrong.”
