CHAMPIONSHIP ASPIRATIONS

ALUMNUS NICHOLAS OWENS HELPED THE NUGGETS BRING HOME A TITLE — WITHOUT EVER PLAYING IN A GAME.

By Glavine Walp

Nicholas Owens knew this Denver Nuggets season was going to be special. The team’s inspirational locker room attendant even made a bold prediction, telling team President Josh Kroenke: “We’re winning the championship, and we’re getting rings this year.”

He was right.

For Owens, a 2010 graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver, the road to his dream job with the Nuggets has been anything but predictable. Diagnosed with spina bifida at birth and using a wheelchair, he knew his career path would be difficult. He never imagined it would lead him to being an essential member of the Nuggets organization.

Owens fell in love with the Nuggets as a boy when he met star center Dikembe Mutombo while serving as a community ambassador for Children’s Hospital Colorado. Owens originally aspired to a career in sports broadcasting, but a surgery complication involving his vocal cords scuttled those plans. However, he never stopped dreaming about working for the Nuggets.

At 13, Owens’ dream became reality when he was offered a job with the team. His first role was delivering statistics sheets, and his standing in the organization grew over time. A year after graduating from MSU Denver with a degree in Speech Communications, Owens was hired as a community ambassador for the team, representing the Nuggets at events across Colorado. All told, Owens has been a presence in the locker room for 24 seasons, giving insight to players and coaches and offering words of encouragement or fist bumps to motivate the team.

Most people would be starstruck around Nuggets players, including two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic. But Owens sees the players as family members.

“This whole season, the Joker (Jokic) would come up to me and always go, ‘Nick, my brother,’ and I would say, ‘Joker, my brother!’” Owens said. “We would always check in with each other and see how we were doing, and I would give him and other guys pep talks before the game.”

This fall, Owens will receive his well-deserved NBA championship ring.

“I couldn’t be more blessed,” he said. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams to be part of such a special organization, and their dedication to me drives me to be greatly dedicated to them.”