NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 6, 2023

Bruce Brown

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. You obviously spent some time in this city. Curious how often you came to games in this arena and just sort of experienced the ambiance here and what it was like?

BRUCE BROWN: I didn't come much. I came once when they played Philly in the playoffs. I think T.J., Tyler Johnson, was still here. But we also played here during the Hoop Hall. We played Princeton here my sophomore year. But I mean, I love this arena. It's a great arena.

Q. Bruce, did Coach L [Jim Larranaga] ever introduce you to any Heat people? Did you ever have any interaction with Spo or Pat Riley in pre-draft workouts and what was that like, if you've ever spent time around either of them?

BRUCE BROWN: No, he never introduced me to them. But I did have a Heat meeting during the Draft Combine, but I don't remember much about it. But I think I did.

Q. So in the limited time back so far, who you have had a chance to see with UM ties?

BRUCE BROWN: No one yet but hopefully soon I get to see everyone.

Q. Who is on tap?

BRUCE BROWN: Definitely Coach L. I might go back to campus and see the new dorms. I was there last summer working out.

Q. Just wanted to ask you about the state of the Hurricanes program. I guess there was some surprise nationally about a Final Four. Was there any surprise to you and do you think the program can be consistently great?

BRUCE BROWN: Am I surprised? No. Coach L. is a great coach. He gets great players to come in. They all buy into his system. They want to win. He gets winners to come in and play extremely hard. So not surprising.

Each year, I think their goal is to win a National Championship. They have the players to do that. So, I can't wait till next year to start.

Q. Is there a disadvantage at all of switching coasts, time zones, things like that? Does that matter at all?

BRUCE BROWN: No, I don't think so.

Q. You've talked so many times about the opportunity, what it means to come back here, but to come back to Miami to play a Finals game, you know that you're going to have some fans in the stands that might be a little conflicted because they are Heat fans. But the opportunity to play the Finals here in Miami, what does it mean to you?

BRUCE BROWN: It means a lot. We were in Pinecrest yesterday at Jeff Green's house at a team dinner and we drove by UM. It just brought back memories, me going to the McDonald's across the street on U.S. 1 and being in the CVS a lot. It's great to be back.