The Denver Nuggets are in the midst of their first ever appearance in the NBA Finals. It was a surreal moment for many on the team’s staff in addition to the players and coaches when the team hosted the first two games of the series this weekend.
Nuggets radio play-by-play voice Jason Kosmicki has been calling games the last 14 seasons, but has been a part of the team for going on three decades.
He told the Denver Gazette he got plenty of texts in the lead-up to Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver serving as those sort of “Pinch me” moments.
“You get a lot of that these days,” Kosmicki, who goes by Koz, said. “People appreciate the journey it’s been for our franchise. It’s been a long time. There was a point when I didn’t think we’d ever get here.”
Koz even had to help pinch his broadcast partner Scott Hastings. Typically not one to get nervous before a Nuggets game, Koz said there were definitely butterflies before the tip of Game 1 last Thursday.
“I looked at Hastings: ‘Do we change anything in the Finals?'” he said. “We didn’t. You just keep doing the same thing. It’s just another game, except I’m nervous as hell as it starts.”
Koz has never found it hard to befriend Nuggets players, even though he tried to downplay his list of contacts. He said his friendship with superstar Nikola Jokic is special, and added that he’s putting the future of his career in the young Serbian’s hands.
“When Joker’s done, I’m done. That’s it,” he said. “It doesn’t get better than that. I’m out.”
