Michael Malone shot down recent rumors surrounding the Nuggets’ planned White House visit.
The Denver Nuggets are the defending NBA champs. Typically when a professional sports team wins a championship in the United States, the team gets an invite to the White House. However, the Nuggets will not be making the trip to D.C. for a White House visit this year.
Denver was said to be skipping the White House visit due to their prioritization of earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, via Chris Haynes of TNT. The Nuggets have pivotal matchups remaining against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who themselves are gunning for the number one spot along with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has now refuted this claim, via Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.
“Contrary to recent reports, our whole goal is not being the No. 1 seed. It’s not why we canceled the trip to the White House,” Malone said. “I don’t know where these things come from. If we get the 1-seed, great.”
Undoubtedly, the Nuggets would enjoy the White House visit. But logistically, it won’t work out. The trip was planned for March 18th. The 18th would have been an off day between two road games for the Nuggets.
On the 17th, they’ll face the Dallas Mavericks on the road. On the 19th they’ll be in Minnesota facing the Timberwolves. To use that off day to travel to the East Coast for just a few hours would be quite the stretch for the Nuggets.
In conclusion, the White House trip wasn’t canceled because of seeding reasons. It just wasn’t a good fit in the Nuggets’ schedule.
About the Author
Rachel Strand is a credentialed beat reporter covering the Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos for ClutchPoints. She is also the creator of DailyDenverBroncos and a podcast host for Mile High Report.
