Bruce Brown gave a reason for the home crowd at Ball Arena to cheer.

The Nuggets trailed by one with a little over a minute and a half remaining, Jamal Murray launched a jumper that missed, but there was Brown to grab the offensive rebound and lay the ball in to give Denver a 90-89 lead.

“I got the bucket because of [Aaron Gordon],” Brown said. “They had two on him...they forgot about me, so kudos to AG.”

That shot would prove to be the game-winner as the Nuggets captured their first championship in franchise history with a 94-89 win over the Heat on Monday night.

After the go-ahead bucket, Brown grabbed a missed 3-pointer by Miami and drilled two big free throws to seal the win.

While Brown will likely take the rest of the week to celebrate, he doesn’t have long before he needs to make a decision on his future.

Brown signed a one-year contract with the Nuggets last offseason that included a player option for the following season worth just under $7 million, but with how Brown has played over the last two months he certainly has earned his place on the roster.

The Nuggets can only offer him 120% of his salary from this season (less than $8 million per year) and there’s a good chance he signs a big contract in free agency next month.

Brown was a five-star shooting guard at Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River, Vermont, ranked No. 49 by Rivals. In his sophomore season at Miami Brown was a preseason All-ACC Second Team, Preseason ESPN Third-Team All-American, Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List, Julius Erving Small Forward of Year Award Watch List, Lute Olson National Player of Year Award Watch List, and a Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List honoree.

He played and started in 19 games, averaging 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Brown credits much of his success to the guidance her received under Head Basketball Coach Jim Larranaga.

"I loved my time in Miami with him," Brown said. "He's text me throughout the year saying congratulations, good luck...as I said Iove Coach L."

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