Some fans arrived as early as 4 a.m. for a chance to secure spots to see their basketball heroes parade through the streets of downtown Denver up close.
Many were in the company of friends and family that have followed the Denver Nuggets franchise for years, even generations, anxiously waiting for their chance at basketball glory.
"It means a lot because growing up, this was our bonding time," said Asia Alire. The Grand Junction native drove three and a half hours with her father Rodney to attend the parade. "Right after dinner, there was basketball on and we'd all be inside watching it. Seeing this happen, it's awesome," Alire said.
The city has been anticipating this celebration ... for 47 years.
Jason Strenge was in attendance for the championship clinching Game 5 at Ball Arena on Monday.
"I've been waiting for this my whole life," Strenge said. "I've been to a lot of sporting events, and this one by far was one of the best I've been to - seeing the Nuggets go from nowhere to somewhere."
Coloradans from all over the state made the trip to see their Nuggets parade the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy through downtown Denver.
And lifelong Nuggets faithful were finally able to share in basketball glory alongside the next generation of fans.
Yazeed Saajid, 39, drove up from Colorado Springs with his son Khalid Callum, 16, and his cousin Anthony Watkins.
"My grandma taught me early to represent for the home team. I'm a longtime Nuggets fan," Saajid said. "Spent a bunch of money. Got the whole family shirts. I called off work. I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Saajid often reminds his son just how long it's taken to finally win an NBA championship.
"It's good to celebrate with my dad, it's just good to see him finally get his," Callum said.
Like many of the fans in attendance, Coach Michael Malone is also hopeful about the possibility of going back-to-back. Multiple key players are still under contract for the next few years including Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
One particular piece of the puzzle is stand out forward Bruce Brown, who paraded through the city to chants of...
"Bruuuuuuce!"
Brown has a player option for the 2023-24 NBA season and - assuming he'll secure the bag this summer for his stellar play - Malone let Nugget fans know that Brown isn't going anywhere.
"Is Brucey B going anywhere? Hell no," Malone said. "We running this sh** back."
Ricky Garcia is a south Denver native who attended the parade with his 2-year-old daughter Kyrie who excitedly ran around the park in her Jokic t-shirt.
"I want her to be able to grow up and be like, 'Yeah, I was at the Nuggets parade when we won our first championship,' even though she might not remember it."
Darnell Brooks is a Denver native that attended the parade with his son, Cornell, who wouldn't let dad miss this celebration.
"I brought my son with me, and he's here to enjoy it too so he gets to say to his kids, 'Hey I was at the parade when the Nuggets won their first championship,'" Cornell said.
Being in an overlooked small market, Brooks believes that this achievement highlights the character of the Denver sports community.
"There are people from everywhere: Latinos, Blacks, whites, young, old," Brooks said. "Everybody is coming out to support the Nuggets. Everybody is giving each other high fives and pats on the back. It was great walking over here to this event."
"It's a mixed racial variance for a crowd here. Everybody loves basketball. This is Denver Nuggets nation right here," Strenge said.
Charles Bush, a Montbello native attended the parade with his children and grandchildren.
"I go back to David Thompson and Dan Issel. I'm old school," Bush said. "For me, to be able to see it and appreciate all of it, it was great. The bad thing about it is this is going to bring more people here," he laughed.
Even the accessories showed generation pride. Many fans donned gold Cuban link Nugget chains, bootleg championship t-shirts and the occasional throwback Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Alex English, Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson jersey.
But this year's most popular parade accessories were large cut out faces of players attached to wooden paint stirring sticks. And many fans were on the hunt to collect the faces of their beloved championship squad.
But the festivities weren't without incident. A Denver police officer was seriously injured and taken to the hospital after he was hit by a firetruck while near the end of the parade route. And while the crowds went home for the afternoon, two people were shot near 17th and Curtis. Police say the two victims - who are in stable condition - were targeted, and the incident was not related to the parade or celebrations. However, it marked the second gun-related incident in two Nuggets celebrations in the same week.
The rally's most memorable moment came from none other than Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic.
Following a viral post game interview in which Jokic groaned at the notion that he'd have to delay his return to Sombor, Serbia until after a parade, Jokic changed his tune after a stroll down Broadway.
"You know that I told that I don't want to stay on parade, but I f***ing want to stay on parade. This is amazing. We are all going to remember this our whole lives."
The crowd erupted in cheer.
Coach Malone ended his rally remarks by asking those in attendance to say "Family" on the count of three. And sure enough - after a dramatically elongated '1...2...3' - the three-syllable word thundered throughout the city.
CPR's John Daley contributed to this story.
