Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, former quarterback Peyton Manning and current quarterback Russell Wilson were in attendance to watch the Denver Nuggets (4-1) defeat the Miami Heat (1-4) 94-89 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night to clinch a title, marking the first championship in franchise history.
Earlier this month, Payton praised Nuggets players for their unselfish play, and he praised team ownership for their accomplishments across sports in recent seasons.
“When I’ve watched them — we all get caught up and you get excited — but the star players are unselfish, and I feel like it’s a team that enjoys each other,” Payton said on June 1. “I’m going to guess that they probably do things together off the court and I don’t know that that’s the case with every team.”
Payton also praised Nuggets ownership. Ann Walton Kroenke, the cousin of Broncos majority owner Rob Walton, owns the Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Ann’s husband, Stan Kroenke, owns the Los Angeles Rams and Colorado Rapids.
“When you think of this for a second — in two years, the Kroenkes have won a Super Bowl, have won a Stanley Cup and they’re in a position to win an NBA championship,” Payton said. “I think that’s something that — it’s good to be a Kroenke for the last two years. That’s pretty impressive to have that type of success.”
Payton will hope that success runs in the family as the Walton-Penner ownership group aims to turn the Broncos around quickly after a seven-year playoff drought.