Nuggets can still give Heat’s Bryant a ring even though he is suspended.
Denver The NBA will permit suspended Miami Heat centre Thomas Bryant to spend a brief amount of time in Denver’s arena on Thursday night in order to attend a pregame ceremony where the Nuggets will present him with his 2023 championship ring.
On game nights, suspended players are normally not permitted to attend the arena. After his involvement in an altercation that occurred during a Heat game against New Orleans last week, Bryant will be serving the final two games of a three-game suspension.
However, the NBA informed the Heat that Bryant could attend and win the ring he won when he finished the 2022–2023 season with the Nuggets—who defeated Miami in the NBA Finals—because it will be Miami’s only trip to Denver this season. Last summer, Bryant became a free agent and signed with the Heat.
Just before the team’s season opener on October 24, Denver presented its championship rings to the players. It is customary for a player who leaves the championship-winning squad to receive his ring in the first matchup with his previous team. When Toronto paid Golden State a visit in early January, Otto Porter Jr. received his 2022 championship ring—a year and a half after Porter was a part of the Warriors’ most successful
The 16 carats of diamonds, rubies, and sapphires in Denver’s championship rings from the previous season are symbolic of the team’s 16 playoff victories.
Bryant played for the Nuggets in 18 regular-season games and one postseason game last season. He was on the court when LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record on February 7, 2023, and he began that season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was Bryant’s final game with the Laker team. Two days later, he was part of a four-team trade to Denver.
With four minutes remaining, Max Strus made his fifth 3-pointer of the game, a 59-footer, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a thrilling 121-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
With 2.9 seconds remaining, P.J. Washington’s dunk gave the Mavericks the lead. However, the Cavaliers quickly inbounded the ball to Evan Mobley, who then passed it back to Strus, who had made four 3-pointers in a 67-second stretch to keep Cleveland in the game.
Strus dribbled a bit before putting up a shot that was officially measured at 59 feet, well beyond midcourt. The Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd went wild as teammates tackled Strus as it swished through the net.
In the end, though, we have
Strus is the fourth player in the last 25 seasons to make five 3-pointers in the last four minutes of a game, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff described Strus as “the guy.” “That’s one of the things, that we’re fortunate with this group, is on any given night, we’ve got a guy who can step up and make huge plays.”
According to Basketball Reference, the clutch shot was the second-longest game-winning buzzer-beater in the history of the 3-point shot. On December 15, 2021, during the New Orleans Pelicans’ victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, only Devonte’ Graham had hit a longer one, measuring 61 feet.
In all honesty, Strus wasn’t particularly impressed with his heave. He created a longer
When questioned further about how he managed it, though, he remained humble.
“I’m not sure. “Someone else had to step up because Donovan [Mitchell] was out of the game,” Strus chuckled during his on-court postgame interview on Bally Sports. “I got lucky.”
Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 31 points, Strus added 21 and Allen added 19, improving their record to 12-3 since January 26.
