Denver, CO

Family on 3 – The rare bond of these Denver Nuggets – DNVR Sports

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

Family on 3 – The rare bond of these Denver Nuggets – DNVR Sports

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.
– Richard Bach

There’s a moment in most people’s young adulthood in which you’re deeply trying to establish your YOU. Your uniqueness, what makes you one of one. Those first forays into new territory can also come with a rejection of what got you there, as they did with me. I remember several years of feeling as if I had a closer bond with friends than family, as I’d PICKED those friends. I’d had no say in whatever shape my family had taken, I’d simply gotten stuck with what I’d gotten, even if that getting was very good.

A few decades later, I’m simply grateful for every last bit of what I was “stuck” with.

Moreover, I was glad for all I’d stuck myself with, as well. I tend more to the Richard Bach line of thought up top when it comes to family, and am so blessed that there are also a few people in my life external to my family tree that are still as much “kin” as anyone I share DNA with. How much luckier am I to have both. That concept, family. It’s one of the things that has stuck with me about the chant these Denver Nuggets wrap most practices and games with. Coach Mike Malone standing in the midst of his team, shouting:

“Family on three! One, two three…” “FAMILY”

Now, some of those teams chants are surely more enthusiastic than others, just like how so many people feel day over day about their family. But for the Nuggets, these aren’t just words. Family not only runs across the top of Denver basketball literally, but is one of the core tenets of the organization holistically. In the abstract, it sounds hokey, and maybe over the top. It’s a multi-billion dollar business, and tough decisions sometimes have to be made. There also have certainly been guys who have come and gone who have decidedly NOT felt a part of the family here, even during these idyllic days (koff, Bones Hyland). On the whole, the description is so apt, it’s clear this team has clearly internalized the concept, is living it, and that is a part of what makes them so utterly rare.

On Wednesday night, when the Nuggets were distancing themselves from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter, two of the vaunted five starters stayed seated on the bench, with second year stars Peyton Watson and Christian Braun playing so impressively as to warrant staying in the game. What made that even more impressive was the two players they were supplanting for that moment, Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. AG and KCP are the most-valued pieces in the defensive chain the Nuggets run their crunchtime D upon, and yet there they sat…

Well, maybe “sat” isn’t the right word…

There they celebrated. There they joined the rest of their team in the barbaric yawp that was P-Wat and CB feeling themselves.

You know who would not celebrate those plays as Gordon and Caldwell-Pope did? Selfish guys. Guys who are thinking about how they look or worrying about whether a DNP in the fourth quarter might reflect on their standing. Guys who aren’t a part of the family. A guy who’s shooting for First Team Defense like KCP could sure feel a certain sort of a way about the two kids playing out the string and also grabbing the defensive player of the game chains. Instead, Kenny was as thrilled as the rest.

The same feelings went a few games prior, when backup point guard Reggie Jackson had spent a few games in a bit of a slump, and was finally breaking out of that shell in a spectacular way, and in a needed fourth quarter run. The guy who told Malone to leave him in? Jamal Murray, who ceded his spot that night to let Reggie cook. When Jackson scored seven straight points to put the Nuggets out of reach at games end, Murray was one of the first to greet him off the floor, overjoyed and celebrating as much as if he’d been the one to sling those arrows.

Heck, even rarely used center Jay Huff is a part of this Nuggets family, loved to the as much as any of the rest. When the Nuggets had banked a recent game to the point of bringing the far end of the bench in, Huff came into the game. In his short time, Jay had a block and then a pair of offensive plays – a finger roll layup and a dunk – that brought the starters back to their feet and cheering. Hell, Moach was actually the first one running out. On a less cohesive team, those starters are discussing plans in their relative cliques as the nobodys salt the game with absolutely no one still watching. In Denver, it’s an event. Because here we celebrate the success of our family.

That feeling of family extends beyond the players having that uncommon bond, and their rejoicing in each other’s games. That feeling extends to Malone’s deep and concerted efforts to let a badly injured Jamal Murray know that the team would stick with him a couple years back. That extends to Gordon traveling halfway across the globe to hang with Nikola Jokic in his hometown. That extends to Jokic breaking his usual media silence to lift up the podcast of teammate Michael Porter, Jr., who himself has sacrificed ego in abundance for the greater good. To Caldwell-Pope and Murray both proclaiming in recent postgame interviews that they are Nuggets for life. To Malone telling the press he has “two daughters and 18 boys”. To a team that seems to have found harmony from top to bottom, this Denver Nuggets family has bought in.

It’s family. It is celebration, it’s true. Rejoicing and all the good stuff. But it is sacrifice as well. Hardship and frustrations and tears and blood and sweat and cohesion in moments that would test a lesser bond. It’s utter familiarity. It’s a subtraction of self for that greater good, and with that a bond that is so much harder to break than a “buddy”. What these Denver Nggets have already done together will be something that connects them for the rest of their lives. That they keep coming back to it every day willing to give of themselves, build those bonds even deeper and keep the larger goals in mind is something that only a family – of blood or bond – can do.

We are family. Get up everybody and sing!
-Sister Sledge

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Denver, CO

Purple Row After Dark: Is Denver the best sports town in the US?

Published

7 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Purple Row After Dark: Is Denver the best sports town in the US?

In case you missed it, the Denver Summit — the Mile High City’s new NWSL team — made quite a debut today:

The game ended on a 0-0 draw, but what a great day for Denver sports.

And that raises an interesting question: Is Denver the best sports town in the United States?

The sooner the Mile High City gets a WNBA team, the better.

Me, I think you can’t beat Denver for sports. But I’m willing to entertain other perspectives. Let us know in the comments!

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Denver, CO

Every Opening and Closing This Week: Six Spots Debuted

Published

19 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Every Opening and Closing This Week: Six Spots Debuted

Paperboy has opened its first location outside of Texas.

Paperboy

Denver is a city that loves to brunch and now, one of Austin’s top daytime spots has opened a location in the West Highland neighborhood. Paperboy’s third outpost is its first outside of its home state of Texas. The concept, which founder Rynan Harms started in a food trailer, has taken over the former home of Rooted Craft American Kitchen (and FNG before that).

“We love this neighborhood because it’s still close to downtown but has its own unique and relaxed vibe,” says Robert Brown, Harms’ longtime business partner, who has lived in Denver for nearly a decade. “People know their neighbors, they show up to community events, they’re invested in this place in a way that feels increasingly rare. That sense of connection is something Paperboy has always tried to foster, and we’re honored to be a part of it here in Denver.”

The menu includes staples such as the chicken and biscuit drizzled with spicy honey; Texas Hash with roasted pork, sweet potato, onion, kale, poached egg and pecan mole; and the Paperboy Pancake, described as “a cake-forward cornmeal pancake that still manages to be impossibly fluffy.”

martini on a table in front of a bar — FiNO’s martini is made with pickled tomato water.

Also now open is FiNO, the restaurant inside the revamped All Inn Hotel on East Colfax. We enjoyed our first meal there; if you’re planning to visit, don’t miss the signature martini, the Medi Nachos and the caper-studded charred cabbage.

On East Sixth Avenue, the powerhouse duo behind the city’s best new barbecue restaurant, Riot BBQ, has debuted Chicken Riot in the former Truffle Cheese Shop space. Meanwhile, the former Whiskey Biscuit in Englewood is now the Barn, a neighborhood eatery from a pair of longtime hospitality pros, including former Brider chef Chase Devitt.

Taqueria Los Gallitos has expanded once again, adding an eighth location in the former Taco John’s near the shuttered Denver Merchandise Mart.

And just in time for the Rockies home opener on Friday, April 3, McGregor Square has opened its revamped food hall. The former Milepost Zero moniker is out. Now, the space is dubbed McGregor Square Food & Drink and includes six food stalls from local eateries: Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, C Burger, G-Que BBQ, High Point Creamery, TaCo! and Tora Ramen.

There’s just one closure to report this week: Ballyhoo Table & Stage, which actually shuttered last month after an eviction notice was posted.

In other openings and closings news:

chicken club sandwich — A chicken club is one of the sandwiches on off at the Barn.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants and bars that opened and closed this week*:

Openings

The Barn South Broadway, 3299 South Broadway, Englewood
Chicken Riot, 2906 East Sixth Avenue
FiNO, 3015 East Colfax Avenue
McGregor Square Food & Drink, 1601 19th Street
Paperboy, 3940 West 32nd Avenue
Taqueria Los Gallitos, 5810 Logan Street

Closures

Ballyhoo Table & Stage, 3300 Tejon Street

*Or earlier and not previously reported.

Know of something we missed? Email cafe@westword.com.

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Denver, CO

Preview: Spirit Prepares for First Match Against Denver Summit FC, Another Record Crowd

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Preview: Spirit Prepares for First Match Against Denver Summit FC, Another Record Crowd

Denver, Colo. (03/27/2026) – In front of another expected record-breaking crowd, the Washington Spirit is set to take on Denver Summit FC in the side’s inaugural home match at Empower Field at Mile High. With over 60,000 tickets already distributed, the match is poised to break the NWSL attendance record of 40,091 set last summer when the Spirit visited Bay FC at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. Kicking off at 2 p.m. EDT, the match will broadcast nationally on CBS.

The Spirit

Washington comes into this weekend’s fixture off a difficult 1-1 home draw with Utah Royals FC earlier this week. After scoring in the 18th minute, the Spirit nearly earned its first victory of 2026 but conceded an equalizer late and had to settle for a single point on the table. Washington’s goal was scored by midfielder Rebeca Bernal, the Mexican star’s first since transferring to the NWSL last year.

Saturday afternoon’s match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Spirit, one of the NWSL’s original clubs, and 2026 expansion side Denver Summit FC. Denver will be the 17th different opponent for Washington across its regular season history: the Spirit has played against 13 active clubs (all except expansion sides Denver and Boston) as well as defunct clubs the Boston Breakers, FC Kansas City and the Western New York Flash.

The Spirit has had success against expansion sides as of late, tallying 11 wins in 15 matches against NWSL clubs in their first season of competition since the start of the 2021 campaign. In 2024, the Spirit went a perfect 5-0-0 against Bay FC and Utah Royals FC, outscoring the teams 10-3 with a playoff win to boot. In 2022, Washington earned a 1-3-0 record against Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC and, in 2021, the eventual NWSL champions went an impressive 5-1-0 against Kansas City and Racing Louisville FC.

This weekend’s matchup at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, is set to shatter the NWSL’s single match attendance record with over 60,000 tickets already distributed. The Spirit has also been the visiting team for two of the league’s previous three record-setting attendances: 34,130 fans at Seattle’s Lumen Field when the Spirit took on the Reign and 40,091 in the stands at San Francisco’s historic Oracle Park to watch Washington play Bay FC.

Washington is in good standing in several attacking categories through three matches despite two draws and a loss. The Spirit remains first in the league in rate of possession at nearly 62% and top three in both shots and shots on target with 49 and 17, respectively. With just three goals through three matches, look for the Spirit attack to continue getting attempts on frame this weekend.

Following Saturday’s match, the Spirit will hit the road again next weekend for an away match against Bay FC in San Jose on Sunday, April 5. Washington’s next home match will be on Friday, April 24 at 8 p.m. EDT when the side hosts the defending Shield winner Kansas City Current at Audi Field. Information on tickets can be found HERE.

The Opponent

Denver Summit FC opened its inaugural season with three straight away matches, collecting a win, a loss and a draw to carry four points into its home opener this weekend. Summit FC dropped its first match to Bay FC 1-2 before drawing Orlando 1-1 and beating Gotham 2-0.

Summit FC is led in scoring by star German forward Melissa Kössler who has three goals in three matches, scoring once in each contest. With a goal tomorrow, the forward would join Alex Morgan as just the second player in league history to score in each of her first four matches with a club. Look for the Spirit defending third to place an emphasis on limiting chances to Kössler on Saturday afternoon.

Denver has only allowed one goal across its last 240 minutes of action after giving up two in the first 30 minutes of the side’s opener. The strong recent form of Summit FC’s defending third against the Spirit attacking third’s ability to generate chance after chance will be a point to watch this weekend.

Three former Spirit players are currently on the Summit FC roster as midfielders Meg Boade and Jordan Baggett and defender Camryn Biegalski signed with the side ahead of this season. Baggett spent four years with the Spirit after being drafted by the side in 2019 while Biegalski signed with Washington in 2021 and played three seasons, both winning the 2021 NWSL Championship with the team. Boade spent the first half of the 2025 season in DC as a short-term injury replacement, even scoring a goal for the Spirit.

Following tomorrow’s match, Denver will travel to Seattle to face Reign FC on Saturday, April 4.

All-Time Series History

This weekend’s match will be the first-ever meeting between the Spirit and Denver Summit FC.

About The Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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