Denver’s Ball Arena hosted the first NBA ring ceremony and banner presentation Tuesday night as the Denver Nuggets welcomed the Los Angeles Lakers to open the 2023-2024 season.
After a long offseason, the Nuggets finally received the rings commemorating their 53-29 season and 16-4 postseason run to the franchise’s first title.
Beverly Hills CEO Jason Arasheben designed the rings with this in mind.
The rings were designed not only to be the first of their kind, but also to honor the Nuggets’ historic season with attention to detail.
“The face of the ring is interchangeable for the first time in ring history,” Arasheben said Nuggets.com. ‘This means you can change the color with just a switch on a lever. We have a lever that runs from 1967, the founding of the team, to 2023, the championship year. Once you switch it up, it goes from blue sapphires to white diamonds on the front of the ring.”
The Denver Nuggets received championship rings with several special features
Beverly Hills CEO Jason Arasheben spoke about the ring’s intricate design details
Embedded in the ring on the right side are each player’s last name, jersey number and the rallying cry “bring it on.” Meanwhile, the left side shows the words “World Champions” above a silhouette of the Denver skyline enclosed by a basketball.
Another new feature is a slide-out compartment on the right side of the ring, revealing the championship banner that now hangs from the rafters of the Ball Arena.
‘Over the years, rings have gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. And you can only go so far,” Arashaben said.
“And even though this is a big ring, it’s a statement ring. What makes me most proud of this ring are the two unique, innovative features we put into this ring, which has never been done before. It is very difficult to recreate and innovate a new feature. But we have innovated new features on this ring, something I am very proud of.’
In addition to the interchangeable background on the front and hidden banner, the ring also features key numbers from the Nuggets season.
The ring features 16 carats of diamonds, rubies and blue sapphires representing the Nuggets’ colors and the number of postseason wins needed to win the NBA championship
The Nuggets raised their first championship banner before playing the Lakers on Tuesday
The front of the ring features the Larry O’Brien trophy behind “NUGGETS” written with 24 points of yellow diamonds – representing the 24 years at Ball Arena. The iconic pickaxes on the team’s secondary logo also appear on the ring behind a golden mountain range.
The ring also features 89 red rubies in a row surrounding the top of the ring – representing the number of points the Nuggets had against the Miami Heat to win Game 5 of their NBA Finals series.
Tuesday’s Western Conference Finals rematch was preceded by much cheering as Altitude host Vic Lombardi recapped the Nuggets’ season ahead of ring presentations.
The crowd in Denver erupted after Lombardi sprayed the Nuggets as they defeated the Lakers to advance to the NBA Finals.
But the cheers grew even louder when their players each received their tokens. Christian Braun, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic and associates walked one by one to center court to receive their rings.
Jamal Murray averaged 21.4 points, 10.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds during the NBA Finals
The Nuggets won their first championship as a franchise, defeating the Miami Heat in 5 games
Eager to return to the court as champions, the Nuggets kept the ceremony and speeches short.
“On behalf of my teammates, the training staff, the coaching staff and the management,” Gordon addressed the crowd, seemingly holding back tears. “We just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for going through this journey with us. Thank you for coming, your support tonight and on the road to repeat all season long.”
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reiterated the Nuggets’ intentions to win another title this season.
“Last year was great, we got one ring,” Malone said. “Who wants another one?”