The Larry O'Brien Trophy could be paraded around the streets of Boston this summer -- just not by a member of the Celtics.
Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown became an NBA champion Monday night when his team defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals. Brown also happens to be a Boston-area native, and his celebration plans include bringing the championship trophy back to the city where he grew up.
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The 26-year-old told The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn he'll try to bring the trophy back to the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester this summer, so "young kids see what can happen when you dream."
That's an awesome idea from Brown, a very proud Bostonian who, while playing for the Detroit Pistons in 2019, asked visiting teams to introduce him as a Boston native instead of a University of Miami product.
"When they say I'm from Boston, it just makes me feel better," Brown told The Boston Globe in 2019. "I just want that to be known that that's where I'm from. That's where I was raised and I don't want that to change."
Brown was no passenger on the Nuggets' championship journey, either. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points per game for Denver this season as a spark plug off the bench while also starting in 31 of a possible 80 contests. He elevated his game in the 2023 postseason, scoring 12 points per game and hitting the game-clinching free throws in Monday's Game 5 win.
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Brown is expected to decline his player option and hit free agency this offseason, and he'd be an immediate fan favorite in Boston thanks to his local roots and gritty style of play. The 6-foot-4 guard said Monday night he's hoping to stay with the Nuggets, however, and the Celtics already have a crowded backcourt with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard currently on the roster.
But anyone hoping to pitch Brown on the C's can make their case in person when Boston's native son comes home this offseason.
