By Tim Gelt
Q: Did you have any idea before the Draft in 1992 that Denver was a possible landing spot for you?
A: Yeah we did. As a matter of fact, my projected range was anywhere from 10-15, so I knew that there was a possibility that I could go to Atlanta, who had the 10th pick. I know that they had expressed a lot of interest in me and that interest extended down to the 15th pick, which was held by the Lakers. The way the draft fell, Atlanta ended up taking Adam Keefe followed by Robert Horry to Houston. Harold Miner went to Miami and I was slotted 13 to Denver. As a matter of fact, LaPhonso was the one that screwed up the draft (laughing). Nobody had expected Phonz to go as high as he did. Actually, a lot of the draft experts thought that Denver was going to take Adam Keefe at the fifth position. When that domino fell it kind of had a ripple effect throughout the first round (laughing).
Q: Did you workout for the Nuggets prior to the draft?
A: I did. I did. I worked out for every team from 10-15. When I came there, Dan Issel had just taken over the job so I got a chance to workout before him, Mike Evans, Gene Littles. At the time, Bernie Bickerstaff (was the coach) and Tim Leiweke was the team President so after the work out I sat down with and had a meeting in a conference room with those gentlemen.
Q: What were your impressions of the city of Denver? Did you get to do anything in the city other than your workout?
A: I didn’t know a lot about Denver. Being from the East Coast I had only identified Denver with the Broncos. They were very prevalent back in the ’80s so I knew a lot about the Broncos but I didn’t know a lot about Denver and I didn’t know a lot about the Nuggets franchise. I did my research on every organization that was interested in drafting me and that’s when I started to learn about who the Nuggets were and about their past and their affiliation with the ABA coming into the NBA. When I walked in I had some general idea of who Dan Issel was and what he meant to the franchise. I knew who Bernie Bickerstaff was because I wanted to make sure that I was familiar with who could potentially draft me.
Q: Take us through that night when you hear David Stern announce that you had been picked by the Denver Nuggets. What was going through your mind?
A: Oh my goodness. Draft night for us was in Portland, Oregon. My mom was working, my girlfriend was also working. So it was only my father and I who made the trip across country.
I was very nervous. I couldn’t sleep. I had butterflies all day long. The only time that I really had some peace was when I actually went to the gym. I went to a local gym and worked out. When I started preparing to get dressed and get ready to attend the draft, the butterflies came back again. It was a long night. Once David Stern called my name, it was the best feeling in the entire world. I was so excited. I just wanted to get to Denver as soon as possible so I could begin working out with my new teammates. Obviously, I was educated on the business of basketball and we had to negotiate a contract and I had to be patient; I had to sit and wait for that process to be over, but I was so anxious to get out there and get started and make a name for myself.
I want to tell you a story. After we got drafted they took us back to a little waiting room and we were able to get on the phone and talk to the team that had drafted us. So I had gotten on the phone and I was talking to Bernie Bickerstaff and Dan Issel and they were congratulating me and they were very excited that I was part of the Nuggets family. They asked me, “What number do you want to wear?” I said, “I’ve worn the No. 20 my entire career in high school and in college,” and their response to me was, “You’re about eight picks too late!” (Laughing.) I didn’t really get it at first and I thought about it and LaPhonso went to Denver too and he was No. 20 at Notre Dame (laughing). It was very funny and when we came in I always used to joke with him that he had my number. We ended up being the best of friends and to this day we still stay in touch.
Drafted 13th overall in 1992, shooting guard Bryant Stith averaged 10.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in eight seasons with the Nuggets.
Q: You and LaPhonso have been linked together ever since. Did you know each other at all before coming to the Nuggets?
A: I had been playing against LapPhonso ever since we were in high school. The first time that I ever knew who LaPhonso was there was a magazine that used to be published that was called Hoop Scoop and they had this section called “Sensational Sophomores”. I was looking to see if my name was mentioned in that elite group of players in the country – and I was not, but I saw that a player named LaPhonso Ellis was one of those and he was from East St. Louis. I put that article on my wall and I made a mental note that I wanted to be able to catch up to be a part of that elite group, and lo and behold, we were able to play against each other in high school and different All-American camps. Then when I went to the University of Virginia and he went to Notre Dame we ended up playing each other several times throughout our collegiate career.
Q: Do you any specific conversations between you and LaPhonso stick out?
A: The most extended conversation that we had was our senior year. We had just played them for the NIT Championship at Madison Square Garden and that night after the game was over we had an opportunity to talk back at the hotel. We were sharing our experiences and who our agents were and where we were projected to go in the draft. We were young and were just trying to feel out the process – and we were just trying to be another ear that we could each listen to. We ended up being pretty good friends from that moment moving forward.
When we linked up in Portland, it all came full circle because we had further conversations talking about the teams that we had visited. Both of us had obviously visited Denver and both had great workouts there and we thought that there was a good possibility that we both could land in the Mile High City together. It just worked out that we both ended up going there and became the best of friends. We have been linked together ever since high school, but it seems like some of the most memorable moments in my basketball career he has always been a part of.
We played against each other at Madison Square Garden at the NIT Championship where we were victorious, but he was right there. When we played in Denver and we were part of that first No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 seed, LaPhonso was there. In my coaching career, the biggest win that we had this season when Old Dominion beat Murray State to go to Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final Four, LaPhonso was commentating and doing the call for that game. He’s been there every step of the way. It’s just great because we have been able to share so many memorable moments together.
Q: You were known for having so much Nuggets pride when you played. When did that develop? Right away, or did that take some time?
A: When I was growing up, my parents always instilled loyalty in me. I was blessed to come from a two parent home and my parents have been married over 50 years. My mother and my father met when they were in elementary school. My mom and my dad always preached to me about the importance of loyalty and giving one organization all that you have. My father worked for the same company for over 30 years and my mom was a school teacher in the same school system for 30 years. It was engrained in me to sell out to whatever organization was going to draft me. I’m very thankful that Denver gave me that opportunity in the NBA and I wanted to show that appreciation back when I became a free agent. I was able to turn down larger contracts to stay in the city that I thought had given me that opportunity to realize my dreams. So when I talk about Nugget pride, it goes back to my upbringing and I’m very proud to be a Denver Nugget.
Q: 23 years later you still carry around that Nuggets pride. Can you talk about that?
A: In my prime, I played my best basketball in Denver. All of my kids were born in Denver. I have some great memories in the Mile High City and that will never change. If I would have had an opportunity to end my career in Denver I would have loved to have done that. It didn’t work out that way. It was part of the business and I understand that, but when you talk about Bryant Stith in the NBA, I see myself as No. 23 with the “C” on my jersey, and I reserve great pride for those eight years that I was able to stay in Denver, Colorado.
Q: The Nuggets hold the seventh overall pick in the draft this year and the highest pick the Nuggets have had since 2003. As a former member of the Nuggets, what kind of advice would you give to this player, whoever that ends up being?
A: When you look back on the history of sports there in the Mile High City, there has been an expectation that has been set by one of the greatest athletes of all-time in John Elway. That’s a guy who has sold himself out for an organization and for a city and that’s what people had come to measure their athletes by, so anybody that is drafted by the Nuggets I would say when you come in, come in and play with great passion.
I think people appreciate that genuine spirit that an athlete has and it shows its way in several actions on the basketball court. Diving on the floor, giving up your body for your teammates, doing whatever it takes to win. I think once people can identify an athlete with those special qualities, then I think everything else will follow. It’s a definite order that has been established by some of the great players that have ever played with the Nuggets, Broncos, the Colorado Rockies or the Avalanche. The fans want to identify with a player that gives their all for their team and for that city there in Denver.