Long live the OG, the NBA’s unheralded tone-setters
New York TimesTwo victories away from celebrating the first NBA Finals championship in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets are in a too-small visitors’ locker room, generally pleased with a Game 3 win in Miami, while a crush of media and assorted hangers-on crowd their space. That formula helped bring Denver to the promised land, which is why the Nuggets have a little-used vet on their roster despite leaning into a future-focused program of restocking this year’s bench and despite a luxury-tax position that makes Jordan’s $2 million cap hit cost the Nuggets an additional $5 million in tax payments … money Denver could avoid paying entirely if it just went with the minimum of 14 players rather than 15. Ironically, the model for the “OG” roster spot was the team Denver defeated in last season’s NBA Finals. But because there’s so much turnover in the league, I don’t know if it always resonates in every single locker room.” For some it’s a stage to be passed through on the way to retirement than a Haslem-esque career opportunity; Andre Iguodala was a veteran mentor in Golden State a year ago, appearing in just eight games at the age of 39, but now he’s retired and the acting head of the National Basketball Players Association. “It’s definitely an adjustment,” said Jordan about the NBA equivalent of a non-speaking role.
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