The Denver Nuggets made fairly quick work of the Los Angeles Lakers with a sweep in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Nuggets guard Bruce Brown became a star in the postseason, and he says his squad got the best of the Lakers so quickly because LeBron James was ‘burnt out,' via the Run Your Race Podcast.

“He [LeBron James] was done…he was done…yeah he was done. He was burnt out…he was so passive to start the third quarter…and then we were switching matchups on him.”

Bruce Brown and host Theo Pinson reflect on how dominant LeBron James was in the first half of Game 4 between the Lakers and Nuggets, and how this spelled for Lakers heartbreak in the second half. After scoring 30 in the first half, both Brown and Pinson agree that James was flat out exhausted, and the Lakers basically had no chance at that point.

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Brown goes on to emphasize that James came out passive in the second half; this suggested to the Nuggets that the game was theirs for the taking, and the rest is history. To say that James was ‘burnt out' is not necessarily a shot then, but more an admission of reality. The Nuggets knew that if they kept the game close while withstanding heroics from James, they would have a good chance of winning.

Of course, the Nuggets went on to sweep on their way to the NBA Finals that they ultimately won in five games against the Miami Heat. Bruce Brown was a big part of the Nuggets championship run, and luckily for the Lakers and the rest of the Western Conference, Brown will be wreaking havoc in the Eastern Conference next season. Still, expect Brown to bring his A-game every night for the Indiana Pacers just like he has done throughout his career.