Over 900 miles separate Denver and San Antonio, but there's a far smaller degree of separation between multiple parties of the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and served as a mentor for current Nuggets head coach Mike Malone. Popovich actually crashed Malone's post-game press conference in a 113-85 Nuggets win on April 3rd, which was all the more humorous because Popvich was ejected from that same game within the very first minute.
Spurs point guard Derrick White grew up in Parker, Colorado, too.Despite having zero Division I offers as a high school prospect, White would attend the University of Colorado in Boulder, and has become San Antonio's starting point guard — not to mention one of the league's most effective perimeter defenders — after playing in just 17 games during his rookie year. White still maintains close ties to the Denver area, including the occasional appearance at the Pepsi Center for pickup games during the summer.
In the lead up to the first-round series between the Nuggets and Spurs, Denver guard Monte Morris spoke to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic regarding White's progression as a player:
“He can play, and he’s been doing a great job with San Antonio running their offense and making plays,” Nuggets point guard Monte Morris said. “We talk a lot.”
White has helped San Antonio continue their streak of playoff appearances, and Malone has helped his Nuggets to an additional eight wins and the second-best record in the Western Conference.
The two teams split the regular season series in 2018-19, with the Nuggets winning the most recent tilt. Game 1 is set for Saturday night in Denver.
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