Nuggets parade through downtown Denver to celebrate the NBA championship set for June 15
The City of Denver will be holding a parade downtown on Thursday, June 15, to celebrate the Denver Nuggets' first-ever NBA Championship.
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Union Station, continue along 17th Avenue and Broadway and end at Civic Center Park.
The Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals in Game 5 on Monday night by a score of 94-89.
The team has released specific details about the parade that includes a pre-rally at 9 a.m. at Civic Center Park with live music, Nuggets season highlight reels and live video from the parade.
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The parade is expected to end at Civic Center Park about noon where the City and County of Denver will present a program honoring the 2023 NBA Champions.
That parade is expected to be similar to the parade held for the Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche last year and for the Super Bowl 50 winning Denver Broncos in 2016. Those parade routes started at Union Station in LoDo near 17th Street and Wynkoop Street. They continued along 17th to Broadway, then from Broadway past Civic Center Park to 13th Avenue and down 13th with a turn on or near Bannock Street to the Denver City and County Building.
Last year's Stanley Cup parade for the Avs started at 10 a.m. and wound through downtown for about an hour and a half.
The players in the Broncos and Avalanche parades rode on top of fire engines from the Denver Fire Department and other Colorado fire departments. Family members were with them and there was lots of beer drinking and wild celebrating. Also seen atop the fire engines were team personnel, including coaches, owners and front-office executives.
Trophies in the Parade
When the Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers last month and became Western Conference Champions for the first time they were presented with the Oscar Robertson Trophy, named after the Hall of Famer who played in the league in the 1960s and 70s. The trophy will likely be shown in the parade. It's likely the Magic Johnson trophy will too, which went to Nikola Jokic when he won the Western Conference Finals MVP.
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award trophy will also likely be only display in the parade. It's named after the late Hall of Famer who played in the 1950s and 60s.
Finally, the Larry O'Brien Trophy – the most sought after trophy of all in the National Basketball Association – is guaranteed to be shown in the parade.
It goes to the team who wins the NBA Finals, and is named after the man who was the NBA commissioner from 1975 to 1984.
Celebration at Denver City and County Building
If things go as they did last year with the Avs, following the parade there will be player and coach speeches in a rally at Civic Center Park outside the Denver City and County Building.
Expect speeches by Head Coach Michael Malone and star players Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Speeches by other starters and reserve players might also happen. Owners Stan and Josh Kroenke might speak, and so might General Manager Calvin Booth. The Kroenkes also got to celebrate their Avalanche's win last year on the same stage.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is scheduled to speak at the rally celebrating the Nuggets.
LINK: Nuggets Parade and Rally Celebration Information
On CBS Colorado's noon newscast on Monday, Hancock, who has been in office since 2011, was asked about being mayor during championships by home teams in several different pro sports.
"It feels good. We will be one of only two other administrations that have had three professional teams win championships during their terms. But that's not about us, right? It's about our Denver Nuggets and 47 years of not winning a championship. Here we go!"
