They chose that picture🤦🏻‍♂️ come on Nuggets!

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Whitmore, Nuggets, J. Williams

The Nuggets have struggled to hold onto some of their impactful role players over the years, which makes it all the more crucial that they continue finding more. One player who has drawn attention so far in training camp is 22-year-old wing Cam Whitmore, according to Brendan Vogt of The DNVR. Whitmore recently signed a two-way deal with Denver. “Cam’s a very good player,” Aaron Gordon said. “He’s big, strong, talented. Yeah, he’s going to be a good addition. I hope that he sticks.” Head coach David Adelman echoed the praise, but also gave important context for how the former first-round pick can carve out a role in the league moving forward. “The thing about Cam is he’s got to simplify himself,” Adelman said. “He’s got to drive the ball to the basket. He’s got to pick up defensively. His athletic profile is incredible. This is the reason why this guy was picked high. There’s a long way to go, and it’s tough to break a rotation.”

Day two of training camp yielded some interesting takeaways for the Nuggets and Adelman, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports notes (via Twitter). Adelman praised the “special skills” of Marvin Bagley III and said that he views him as the backup center, rather than a power forward, but added he could play the four in a pinch. Adelman also said that rookie forward Trevon Brazile “has a chance” to earn power forward minutes and that rookie Alpha Diallo is a special defender who “doesn’t get screened.” Meanwhile, point guard Jamal Murray lauded Christian Braun, saying the 25-year-old wing has gotten much better as a ball-handler.

@Ary_Report

Via DNVR🏔️🏀

Daily Listening: Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory (2017) | Recommended by u/smalltoes

Via DNVR🏔️🏀

This is the 10‑year‑anniversary feature from Snowyard Denver . I’m DenSnow, the editor of this piece and founder of Snowyard Denver. This article was written by our group of Chinese Nuggets fans who have stuck together for ten years. It is AI‑translated, so there may be imperfect translations, and we appreciate your understanding. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments if anything is confusing, and I will respond to everyone. All footnotes explain Chinese‑internet slang, fan nicknames and cultural references for English‑speaking readers. Original Chinese piece written Sep 30, 2026.

Authors: Yuanyuan, Warmth, SnowRabbit, Berkutchy, Yaoyi, Walrus, ListenRain

Editor: DenSnow

Foreword

Hi everyone, this is DenSnow. Last year since , I’ve often wondered: come September of this year, what would the Denver Nuggets look like? And what would we have become?

That’s right. Today, September 30, 2026, Snowyard Denver | ChineseNuggets Coverage turns ten years old.

If our goal was only to recap the franchise’s history, we could easily cite piles of references and retell those beloved high‑altitude stories every Nuggets fan knows by heart. But that is not what I want to share on this special tenth‑anniversary occasion.

I reached out to every member of our editorial team, asking them to look back on their own journeys over this past decade and leave something worth remembering on this ordinary‑yet‑remarkable day.

These are the stories of every single one of us Nuggets fans. You will not find flowery prose here. There are tough, trivial moments, and many passages that might not even seem basketball‑related. Still, these are our most authentic selves and the heartfelt truths we want to speak about these ten years.

We also brought these fan stories to media day and shared them with the Denver Nuggets staff. DeMar‑DeRozan, the Nuggets’ new number‑10 jersey wearer this season, even recorded a special greeting video exclusively for us.

Hopefully, when Snowyard Denver marks its 15th, 20th, or further anniversaries down the line, reading this piece will bring back that same burning passion we once held.

Welcome to our stories. We also invite you to leave your own memories here, in whatever way feels right to you.

Yuanyuan

Some things feel fated. Like falling in love with my favorite team because of a loss. Or how, as a Nuggets fan, I ended up adopting a cat named 58⁽¹⁾.

⁽¹⁾Note: Named in reference to the famous 58‑point blowout victory the Nuggets once had over the New Orleans Hornets.

(Dad still walks past the place you left us often. Almost three years have gone by, yet every time I pass by, my heart aches. Now I have not only lost you, but also mom. Dad will always love you.)

Do you know what September 30, 2026 means?

It means I’m about to turn 33.

Society loves slapping labels on people. For a 33‑year‑old man, common expectations are: build a career, have a partner, raise kids.

I have none of those. Much like Mr. Fan Debiao⁽²⁾ from that viral Chinese internet meme, I even carry my own share of hardships.

⁽²⁾Note: Fan Debiao, a popular Chinese internet meme character who struggles financially despite reaching adulthood.

Reading this, you can see just how important the Denver Nuggets are to me.

I was never the sharpest kid growing up. Most people root for winning, dominant teams because it brings easy joy. I just fixate on the team I like. Knowing they will lose sometimes, I still choose to stick around, finding joy amid hardship and never wavering. That devotion has lasted eighteen years.

Ever since I could manage my own schedule, I never miss a game day. I open the livestream without fail. If I cannot watch visually, I put on headphones for the commentary. Outside of work meetings, almost nothing keeps me away from Nuggets games. The Nuggets got me through many dull chapters of my life. Games end in heartbreak sometimes, yet knowing they are always there is enough.

On top of that, I found a whole online community of people who love this team just as much.

Thank you DenSnow for founding Snowyard Denver ten years ago. Back then I only knew this community existed. I saw myself merely as an online stranger, unworthy to join. I was buried in graduate school exam prep and had no spare time anyway. In 2022, I saw Snowyard Denver’s recruitment post and mustered up courage to apply. That is how I met these like‑minded friends and stepped foot into content creation.

My original motivation was simple: there was far too little Chinese‑language content about the Denver Nuggets. Lots of overseas stories needed translation for Chinese‑speaking basketball fans. My feeds on Weibo and Hupu⁽³⁾ were flooded with posts about big‑market franchises, and I grew tired of it. Someone has to make content for the Nuggets. If I care this deeply, why shouldn’t that someone be me?

⁽³⁾Note: Hupu is China’s largest domestic sports‑discussion forum, comparable to Reddit.

I would be lying if I said there was zero personal wishful thinking. Back then I dreamed: what if I could somehow connect with the franchise itself? After joining, my face showed up on the big screen at Ball Arena. I took part in multiple Nuggets China Tour events. I even dressed up as the horse mascot when Nikola‑Jokić landed in Guangzhou. Beyond that, encouraged by commentator Guan Weijia⁽⁴⁾, we launched our own Nuggets podcast and recorded several episodes alongside him. Those were experiences I once could not even imagine.

⁽⁴⁾Note: Guan Weijia, well‑known Chinese basketball media personality.

Ten years sounds short, yet every single day adds up. I hope we keep going for one more decade, two more decades, and keep bringing everyone fresh Nuggets coverage.

Thank you Snowyard Denver, thank you DenSnow, and thank you for reading. Snowyard Denver shines because of every single one of you.

Warmth

Hey everyone, I’m Warmth. Some long‑time followers know me by my old online alias Benzema.

My bond with this franchise started back in 2006, when I was in eighth grade. I saw two guys with cornrow hairstyles on TV. I never was one to follow crowds. While most of my classmates cheered for Yao and McGrady, I became the “odd one out”. That streak has stretched for almost twenty years.

Before I found Snowyard Denver, I ran an unofficial Denver Nuggets fan page on Renren⁽⁵⁾. One thing that always surprised me: “How come my follower count is smaller than the fanpage for Ty‑Lawson?”

⁽⁵⁾Note: Renren, a once‑popular Chinese social media platform similar to early‑era Facebook.

I first crossed paths with DenSnow around 2014 or 2015. Another poster called NewsGuy and I ran threads on the Hupu Nuggets forum: he posted news updates and I posted images. Some of our posts may have contained inaccurate material, so DenSnow temporarily banned us. I would have forgotten that episode if he had not brought it up. Still, creating content for the Nuggets brought me joy.

I officially joined Snowyard Denver around 2018. I published a long season‑retrospective thread, digging up countless photos for the write‑up. My work must have impressed people from the community. One day MiMei (former community core member) and DenSnow messaged me, asking whether I wanted to become the Hupu section moderator. I initially turned DenSnow’s offer down, but MiMei convinced me to accept. That marked the start of my nearly eight‑year‑long journey with the biggest Chinese Nuggets fan media outlet.

Snowyard Denver means so much to me. Throughout high school and college, I constantly heard takes like “Do the Nuggets even have fans?” Back then I wished I could find just one fellow Nuggets fan nearby. That loneliness lingered for many years. It faded once I spent time on Hupu and eventually joined our Nuggets QQ groups⁽⁶⁾, where I found peers who shared my passion.

⁽⁶⁾Note: QQ, widely‑used Chinese instant‑messaging software with group‑chat functions.

After joining our Snowyard Podcast a few years ago, I got to know many friends I would later meet offline. That is the greatest gift this fandom has given me. United by a shared hobby, we hang out in real life. Without your support, nobody would know who I am. I thank the Nuggets for bringing us together. Connected through the internet, we built bonds and became each other’s emotional anchor.

The day I typed this, my baby is at week 38 of pregnancy. In less than three weeks my child will arrive, and I will become a father. New responsibilities await me. Having all of you witness this journey makes it incredibly special.

I have so many things I want to say to everyone reading this. Getting older, I am not great with flowery speeches. Attached is a photo from my wedding last year, where multiple Nuggets fans gathered. Hopefully ten or twenty years from now, flipping through these memories, we will still be the pure‑hearted fans we once were.

Happy 10th anniversary to me and to Snowyard Denver.

SnowRabbit

I am a woman. I started watching basketball in elementary school. A self‑proclaimed casual, non‑hardcore fan.

My basketball journey began with a basketball poster I saw at my cousin’s house. I asked her who the player was on the wall. She answered “Allen‑Iverson is so handsome.” I cannot remember exactly what grade I was in. Even as a kid, those tough, melancholy eyes stuck with me. Girls easily fall for the rebel archetype.

One day my mom, who worked as a Chinese teacher, brought home a magazine confiscated from one of her students. Right on the cover was Allen‑Iverson! That confiscated magazine opened the door to basketball for me.

Then came the 2001 Finals, 76ers versus Lakers. The 4‑1 scoreline was a blowout by any measure, yet back then nobody mocked Iverson. Not even after his famous step‑over on Tyronn‑Lue. That Finals taught young me: losers can earn just as much applause as champions.

After that series, the 76ers were widely viewed as a top team, and media covered Iverson heavily. Every month I spent 10 yuan buying Slam magazine. While boys in my class bought Nike and Adidas gear, I bought Reebok. Once we had dinner at my grandma’s house, and sports news played on TV: Philadelphia 76ers lost to Denver Nuggets. I threw down my chopsticks out of anger. I thought to myself: Aren’t the 76ers supposed to be great? Who even are the Denver Nuggets?

My mom slapped my hand. She told me girls should not misbehave at the dinner table.

Later, Iverson got traded to Denver. Denver — the team that beat the 76ers?

Ask an elementary‑ or middle‑school kid about “one team one player”, and you will get no coherent answer. I was too young to grasp player trades. I only recalled reading somewhere that Carmelo‑Anthony idolized Iverson. I thought: They get to play together! That sounds amazing!

The Nuggets uniforms looked fantastic, better than the 76ers’. Carmelo‑Anthony was so fun to watch. The high‑scoring Iverson‑Anthony duo was such a joy. You would call me a fake fan, another casual female fan.

CCTV‑5, basketball magazines, middle‑school PE class: those were my only sources for basketball knowledge back then. Did I understand the game? Not really. But my love was genuine.

I was the principal cellist for my school orchestra in middle school. Sometimes I skipped orchestra practice just to shoot hoops with boys on the court. Every Friday my orchestra teacher noticed I was missing, hunted me down on the basketball court, and called my mom to complain: “A young lady should not act like this! What if you injure your hands and ruin your cello playing?”

After that I could only stand on the sidelines watching games. During class basketball matches, I would call substitutions and time‑outs.

Our orchestra won countless awards throughout those three middle‑school years. Still, I never learned how to play basketball well.

Once Iverson left Denver, I stopped following the NBA. It was not some dramatic grudge. I was growing up, getting into teenage romance; those things felt more interesting than basketball. Teenage heart wants what it wants.

Years later during the pandemic, I became a teacher. A guy pursuing me had little to talk about. At dinners he would scroll his phone and laugh. I asked what amused him, and he showed me funny NBA highlight clips. Russell‑Westbrook highlights.

Trying to connect with me, he watched games with me. I asked who recent MVPs were. He told me about a really heavy‑set player nicknamed pork belly: Nikola‑Jokić. I asked what team he played for. Denver Nuggets.

Memories flooded my mind: old posters, magazines, the high‑scoring Iverson‑Anthony era, my Reebok shirts, boys I watched play basketball in middle school.

Cupid’s arrow missed its mark with that guy, yet my connection with Denver lived on. I watched games quietly on my own. It was only during their championship run in 2023 that I discovered fan groups. Summer 2023 I met DenSnow and Yuanyuan online — I had thought Yuanyuan was a woman back then! In summer 2024 I met Warmth in‑person in Beijing. At the subway station he handed me a Nuggets flag for me to bring all the way to Abu Dhabi. Step by step I grew more invested and slowly became a small‑scale content creator for Nuggets fans.

I never saw myself as a content creator until my partner pointed it out. He said: “You talk about the Nuggets so passionately with me, you have done all this research — why not make regular content?” I answered that creating content is hard, you cannot satisfy every fan. He told me: “If you make it, you will find people who resonate with you.”

Whatever others think of the Nuggets or of me, I hold one belief: the Nuggets deserve their own voice. They should not only be defined by what other fanbases say. There were stretches when basketball online made me miserable: internet harassment, misunderstandings even from fellow Nuggets fans. But I refused to quit. I watched games of my partner’s favorite team late at night, rediscovering that light‑hearted joy. I reset my mindset and kept making content.

I would not call myself successful. After three straight years falling short in title pursuits, this time the loser did not get widespread praise. Some fans walked away, others stayed. I feel grateful that other Nuggets creators keep showing up, shining on different platforms. My greatest achievement still goes back to middle‑school class games, calling substitutions and time‑outs from the sideline. Hahaha.

I do not know whether I can keep making “SnowRabbit‑Nuggets” content for ten more years. But Snowyard Denver already pulled off ten. I travelled with Snowyard Denver to Abu Dhabi for my very first live NBA game. Every week I chat and share my unpolished opinions alongside our podcast crew of veteran fans.

Our lives are complicated; people have many sides. Much like how I adored Iverson growing up yet my first jersey was Tracy‑McGrady’s Magic jersey. I watch how the sport evolves, and I try to understand each Nuggets player’s life. Some people thrive, some struggle. Some multi‑million‑dollar superstars take their kids to cheap public outdoor swimming pools. Others get endlessly critiqued by analysts no matter what they do. Look at that: nobody’s life is easy.

I hope everyone reading this will be happier ten years from now than you are today ❤️

Berkutchy

My NBA viewing journey spans from 2004 all the way to 2026. After countless memorable moments, I ended up settling with the Nuggets.

I first encountered NBA during lunch break at my middle‑school after‑school care. No high‑speed internet back then. My friend would flip the TV to CCTV‑5 at noon. Rockets games aired constantly, so I watched them. That fondness was not a deliberate choice; I just watched whatever broadcasts served up.

Once Yao‑Ming’s era concluded, I lost my steady anchor for basketball fandom. For a short while I was captivated by Blake‑Griffin and his high‑flying, explosive style, yet that fascination faded fast.

Then Stephen‑Curry exploded onto the scene with unprecedented volume of pull‑up threes. For the 15‑16 season my interest in basketball briefly reignited. It died down again after one season.

I truly, definitively fell in love with the NBA and one single franchise starting in the 2017‑18 Denver Nuggets season.

Before that my Nuggets memories only went back to a Spring‑Festival matchup between Carmelo‑Anthony and LeBron‑James around 2010. I barely recall the game itself, only a late Melo near‑game‑winner. Back then it was just another random televised contest, nothing that hooked me. That changed with 17‑18 daily top‑10 plays. Time and time again the Nuggets appeared in highlight reels, and the dishing playmaker was that stocky white‑skinned center: Nikola‑Jokić. No elite vertical leap, no blazing speed, limited raw athletic gifts, yet he ran the whole court, orchestrating everything.

I still remember that roster clearly: Harris, Mason‑Plumlee, Will‑Barton⁽⁷⁾, Torrey‑Craig, Paul‑Milsap, Juancho‑Hernangómez⁽⁸⁾, Trey‑Lyles, Malik‑Beasley, Monte‑Morris, alongside the franchise’s new dual stars Jokić and Jamal‑Murray. And of course Will‑Barton (“Dun‑Dun‑Jiang” as our fan nickname), my personal favorite whom I bring up constantly on the podcast. That season they missed playoffs by just one game, falling to long‑term foe Minnesota Timberwolves. The roster was understated, tough‑minded, and team‑first. Watching them sometimes felt like watching FIBA‑style basketball played inside the NBA.

⁽⁷⁾Note: Will Barton, fan nickname “Dun‑Dun‑Jiang” used within Chinese Nuggets fan community. ⁽⁸⁾Note: Juancho Hernangómez, Chinese fan nickname “Huang‑Qiao”.

From that point onward, when I watched NBA, I only watched Denver Nuggets. Nine years have flown by. Roster pieces rotated in and out. The team weathered ups and downs, quietly maturing. Jokić grew from starting big man to one of the league’s best active players. Small‑market franchise with limited spending and low mainstream hype, they still fulfilled their dream in 2022‑2023, lifting the first championship trophy in franchise history. That achievement gave me a real sense of fulfillment I had never experienced in my years as a basketball fan.

As Wang Ning, Pop Mart founder, wrote in his book: What takes ten years to accomplish cannot be rushed into one or two. Jokić’s development with Denver mirrors that idea. Eleven seasons already in Denver, delivering the franchise its historic first championship. He puts in gruelling, disciplined private training, never boasts to media, and does not manufacture hype around his hard work. He simply grinds in silence. As someone running my own business, that resonates deeply with my reality. Running a company means staying patient, taking one step at a time, focusing on your craft, polishing your product steadily.

During our championship summer I shared my view on fandom on our podcast, and I still stand by those words today. Denver is a small‑market team. Ownership does not pour endless money in, front office has its limitations. Winning that championship came after many quiet, gruelling seasons. We should not demand perfection. That lesson applies to us as ordinary people too: live in the moment, focus on yourself. After years of quiet persistence, each of us will get our own personal “championship trophy”.

Yaoyi

2026 marks my eleventh year properly watching NBA, and my fourth year creating content for Snowyard Denver.

I cannot pinpoint exactly how I got into basketball. For boys in middle‑school circles, playing ball, watching games and debating hoops just felt normal. Thursday’s NBA Frontline, Friday’s Basketball Park, old basketball magazines I no longer remember the names of. Among players, Derrick‑Rose caught my eye first. As for the Mile‑High City’s story, I barely registered it back then.

I remember playing NBA 2K14, leading a ragtag squad all the way to a championship, visiting the White House to meet Obama. I argued fiercely on forum boards over whether Rose or Butler should be Chicago’s number one. I felt miserable for entire days when the Bulls lost to tanking Philadelphia. That youthful passion for basketball is something I look back on fondly, yet it faded away. Academic workload increased. Rose bounced around New York, Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit. Slowly basketball and I drifted apart. When classmates mentioned names like Ayton or Zion, I barely recognized them.

When life leaves you idle, you seek hobbies to fill gaps. That brings us to the Denver Nuggets. During winter break of high‑school, lockdowns due to COVID‑19 happened. I stumbled across sports‑card livestreams. People told me cards could appreciate in value, so I bought a Jamal‑Murray Panini Oil Painting autograph card on impulse. That single card pulled me back into basketball viewing.

My first full run coincided with the bubble season⁽⁹⁾. The rest is well‑known history: Jamal‑Murray dropping 40‑point games repeatedly. Two historic 3‑1 comebacks, pushing all the way to the Western Conference Finals. That was the first time I witnessed real‑world hope from a player I followed closely. Right then I thought: This time I picked the right team.

⁽⁹⁾Note: “Bubble season”, the closed‑campus playoff bubble held at Walt Disney World during 2020.

Initially I was purely a Jamal‑Murray fan. That is different from falling for the whole Denver Nuggets franchise.

It has only been four years and four months since I joined Snowyard Denver, yet it feels far longer. In a sense I grew from eighteen towards my late twenties alongside this community. Back in late May 2022 I spotted a recruitment notice on Hupu and found the old “Snowyard Denver Phase‑2 Project” chat group, and added DenSnow.

As a first‑year university liberal‑arts student I had lots of spare time. By chance I took over day‑to‑day operations for the WeChat official account⁽¹⁰⁾. Debating fans of other star‑heavy franchises, offline watch‑parties with fellow Nuggets supporters, listening to Snowyard Podcast on bike rides. Many connections formed online that spilled over into real‑world friendships. Bit by bit my affection for the full Denver Nuggets franchise deepened. At some point I could honestly say: I truly love this team.

⁽¹⁰⁾Note: WeChat Official Account, the mainstream Chinese platform for long‑form article publishing.

As my life entered new phases, I handed most day‑to‑day account work over to Walrus. Now I only interact with everyone on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today marks Snowyard Denver’s tenth anniversary. Rare opportunities like this let me look back across time. When will the next chance come? When we hit 10 000 followers? Our twentieth anniversary? I do not know. I just hope all of you will still be around, still cheering for the Denver Nuggets we love.

Walrus

Speaking of “ten years” with Snowyard Denver: truthfully I have not been here for ten whole years haha. Still, my journey with the Nuggets and this community stretches across most of my junior‑high‑school to university years.

My first introduction to the Nuggets was pure coincidence. CCTV‑5 re‑aired old NBA games every weekend noon. I would finish my junior‑high‑school basketball training class and turn on the TV. There was that pale‑skinned big man in dark jerseys, moving with surprising agility for his frame. That visual stuck with me, and slowly I grew into a Nuggets fan.

Right before I graduated junior high was the bubble season. I was not exactly prioritizing studying back then. Getting home, the very first thing I did was read Snowyard Denver game recaps. If the Nuggets won, I would watch highlight reels too. That simple, fiery joy is something I rarely feel these days.

The semi‑final series versus Clippers landed right during my first major mock‑exams. Before walking into the exam hall I secretly checked the score. The Nuggets trailed, and I was incredibly nervous. Inside the exam room I felt unwell, constantly blowing my nose, light‑headed — my own personal version of “flu game”. I stepped out of the exam hall to discover a massive comeback win. Even more coincidentally, that mock‑exam ended up being my best academic result of junior high. That playoff run was the first full post‑season I watched live. For a moment I foolishly thought “coming back from down 3‑1” was normal in the NBA. Miracles are not commonplace; that Nuggets team simply performed magic for us fans.

During that period I started using Hupu, occasionally commenting in the Nuggets forum. Mostly I read far more than I posted, yet I already felt part of the community.

Later high‑school coursework ramped up. I watched fewer live games, but I kept hanging out in Snowyard Denver group chats. That is where I met Lawyer, Northwest, Simon, DenSnow and many others. Back then multiple chat members used usernames formatted “[Something] Bar Walrus”. Thinking back makes me laugh, and also fills me with warmth. To have that kind of virtual camaraderie is real luck.

I did get offline experience too. When I could squeeze free time away from school, I attended the Western‑Conference‑Finals Game 3 watch‑party in 2023. Burgers and fries tasted great, atmosphere was electric. Unexpectedly, from a fan‑card goodie‑bag given out at the event I pulled an Onyeka‑Okongwu rookie autograph card. I also took a photo together with DenSnow. For someone who rarely got to attend fan events, it was a joyful, long‑awaited gathering.

(Quick disclosure: I am a dual fan of Nuggets and Heat. The 2023 Finals was double‑the‑fun for me.)

After high‑school graduation I barely followed Nuggets day‑to‑day. Life moves you forward, basketball turned from daily ritual to occasional pastime. Then fate stepped in again. Right before university started, DenSnow invited me to join the editorial team. At that moment I realized my Snowyard Denver story had not ended. Perhaps my next‑ten‑years journey with Snowyard Denver was just getting underway.

ListenRain

When DenSnow asked me to write something for our tenth‑anniversary piece, one song lyric popped into my mind. Not Eason‑Chan’s Ten Years. The line was “Ten years is just like a dream…” That track sat buried deep inside my old music‑player playlist, something I listened to a great deal in university. Yet I could not recall its title no matter how hard I tried. That is how long a decade is: long enough that once‑familiar songs leave only fragments of lyrics in your memory. A decade truly is like a dream.

Memories can deceive you. Thinking back to September 2016, ten years ago: my imagined self buried in library studying for post‑graduate‑school entrance exams. My real‑world self: fully absorbed in World of Warcraft Legion, overjoyed every time a legendary item dropped. Fragmented recollections paint a distorted yet beautiful picture, capturing that end‑of‑college‑era feeling of youth oblivious to hardship.

Middle‑school and high‑school were my most basketball‑obsessed years. I played whenever spare minutes popped up. I secretly checked text‑based game streams on my phone in class. After school I bought basketball magazines (I once dreamed of becoming a basketball‑magazine editor, so meeting editor Raven later felt amazing). I re‑watched games during vacations. Basketball brought unmatched happiness back then.

Once university began, I still played hoops but watched fewer matches. After starting work in 2017, watching games became my favourite workplace distraction. Around that time a Serbian big man, two young guards, and “The General”⁽¹¹⁾ brought a previously‑under‑the‑radar franchise to my attention. Missing playoffs by narrow margin against Minnesota, then fighting hard and falling short of Western‑Conference‑Finals advancement. The Nuggets and their players gave me so many wonderful surprises. I discovered Snowyard Denver on Hupu in that period. Reading articles published by this group, I thought: these people are incredibly talented. Back then I was purely a reader. Fan content communities felt distant, and I never imagined I would one day contribute.

⁽¹¹⁾Note: “The General”, Chinese‑fan nickname for Paul‑Milsap.

That hobby became even more meaningful during pandemic work‑from‑home stretches. Post‑2022, after offices reopened, I felt lost about my life direction. I leaned heavily into hobbies, and craved more basketball‑related discussions. That led me from Hupu into DenSnow’s WeChat groups. After joining, things unfolded naturally. I started proof‑reading articles. Then I joined Yuanyuan and others recording podcast episodes. Weekly recording sessions became an important routine in my life. Friendships built offline from this community turned out to be incredibly precious. Honestly speaking I never imagined a sport could deliver so much joy outside of actual gameplay.

I finished writing this piece during Mid‑Autumn Festival 2026⁽¹²⁾. Too late to wish everyone happy Mid‑Autumn Festival, so let me wish you all an early happy new year instead. Sitting at my desk looking back across ten years, I have so much I want to say. I condensed my messy thoughts into this short essay to honour time gone by. Happy tenth birthday, Snowyard Denver!

⁽¹²⁾Note: Mid‑Autumn Festival, major traditional East‑Asian holiday centered on family reunion.

Afterword

Reading through all these personal accounts, one thing becomes clear: every single one of us loves the Denver Nuggets in our own distinct way.

Some leaned on this fandom to survive difficult life chapters. Some fell in love as teenagers and kept their pure passion intact as time passed. Some watched games alone for years through stretches of loneliness, until they found people who shared their obsessions here. Some learned life lessons watching the franchise go through quiet growth and adversity. Others started out as ordinary readers, before picking up pens and microphones to make sure the Nuggets had a voice within Chinese‑language online spaces.

We come from all corners, working vastly different jobs. Most of us are just ordinary Nuggets fans navigating our own life ups‑and‑downs. Being ordinary, however, never takes away our right to enjoy the Nuggets, enjoy basketball, and embrace the world around us. Dare to document your own story. Dare to speak openly about what you love. Do not let regret build up later.

This tenth‑anniversary marks remembrance, not an ending.

We look forward to reuniting for the next ten‑year milestone. Thank you for sticking with us. We would love to read your own stories in the comment section.

Instagram link to his profile: https://www.instagram.com/augustus.exposures?stkn=cTc1dHZsZWY5ODJu

Via Guerilla Sports🏔️🏀