Former Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

NBA champion Bruce Brown shades Lakers

By Vinny Somma | Last updated 7/18/23

The Denver Nuggets made light work of the competition this past postseason as they cruised to an NBA title. The reigning champs lost just four games total across four playoff series and completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

Veteran guard Bruce Brown recently joined the Run Your Race podcast to discuss the Nuggets' dominant title run, taking a slight jab at the Lakers along the way.

Despite three of Denver's four wins over Los Angeles being decided by six points or fewer, Brown said "It never felt like we were gonna lose any game" against the Lakers.

"I would say our toughest series was Minnesota ... Phoenix it was just blowouts each game ... [Lakers] It never felt like we were gonna lose any game."

Bruce Brown on the Nuggets' championship run

(via Run Your Race Podcast, @TidalLeague) pic.twitter.com/GNIbjEc6BD
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) July 18, 2023

After sweeping the Lakers, the Nuggets advanced to the NBA finals, where they defeated the Miami Heat in five games. It was the first NBA championship in the franchise's 47-year history.

Despite the Phoenix Suns notching two wins against Denver, Brown claimed that the eighth-seed Minnesota Timberwolves were actually Denver's toughest opponents throughout the playoffs.

Brown was a vital member of Denver's championship squad, posting playoff averages of 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals while coming off the bench.

Riding high off his brilliance in the playoffs, Brown inked a two-year, $45 million contract with the Indiana Pacers this summer. His $22.5M average yearly salary with Indiana is $7.45M more than his $15M estimated career earnings, per Spotrac.

In five years in the NBA, Brown has appeared in 349 regular season games, averaging 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds. His scoring output has increased in each of the last two seasons, culminating in a career-best 11.5 ppg average in 2022-23.

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