With the past and present colliding, the Denver Nuggets have had a bit of an organization bonding experience the past two days.
The 1994 playoff team, which is best know for upsetting top-seed Seattle in the first round, is in town for Monday night's 20th anniversary reunion. The team will be honored at halftime of the Nuggets' game against the Clippers.
Sunday night, the two squads got together at the Ritz-Carlton to trade stories and compare experiences.
"We got a chance to meet with them and pick their brains about everything – off the court, on the court," Nuggets guard Ty Lawson said Monday after the morning shootaround at the Pepsi Center. "It was fun."
After the teams met, the 1994 squad had a dinner and got to relive old times, swap stories and get caught up on what they're doing now.
"It was great to get together and fascinating to hear some stories and add some little details to some unfinished stories," former forward LaPhonso Ellis said Monday. "It was really good to see everyone. … We feel very flattered, overwhelmed and honored."
Ellis said while it is nice to be honored, it will be "sad on two accounts." Teammate Bison Dele (formerly Brian Williams) was killed in 2002 in an unsolved boating accident, and Rodney Rogers is in a wheelchair after an ATV accident in 2008. Rogers will be at Monday's ceremony.
"It's hard to wrap your mind around it sometimes," Ellis said. "It would be one thing if we won a world championship. But obviously what we were able to accomplish in 1994 still resonates with people within the organization and people in town as well.
"It's a priviledge, and we're flattered and honored that the Nuggets would bring us back to town and have a night like tonight."
Ellis said he was glad to see the team is going to wear the 1994 uniforms tonight, but he would have enjoyed the ones from the year before.
"That will be icing on the cake," Ellis said of the team wearing throwbacks against the Clippers. "But I still have to admit, I still like the rainbow jerseys that we wore my rookie year. I was grateful for the ones we had my second season, but I loved the rainbow jerseys. I wish we could have worn those my entire career."
Lawson said the best part of Monday night's game will be wearing those old uniforms.
"I've been waiting for this day to wear those unis," he said. "I was a fan from back then when they beat the No. 1 seed. There's a lot of history behind those uniforms."
