Nuggets Had to Warm Up Without Shoes for Game 4 vs. Lakers After Bus Delay

Tim Capurso | Apr 28, 2024

Nuggets players had to warm up without shoes due to a bus delay, but coach Michael Malone refused to make excuses after the Game 4 loss to the Lakers on Saturday night. / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

It's always good to put your best foot forward but sometimes the situation simply doesn't allow it.

That's what happened to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night ahead of Game 4 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, a contest they ultimately went on to lose by a score of 119-108.

Nuggets players took the court at Crypto.com Arena to warm up for the game, but there was just one problem: They had no shoes.

There was a miscommunication in ensuring that several Nuggets players' basketball kicks were on the bus to the arena, leading to a delay in the transportation of the shoes, a team spokesperson told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Some players had to warm up in flip flop slides, certainly not an ideal development for an NBA playoff game.

The team bus carrying the Nuggets player’s shoes was a little delayed getting to the arena tonight ahead of Game 4, I’m told. Some players were shooting around and starting their warmup in slides. The bus has since arrived.pic.twitter.com/FDkiI6arqv

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 27, 2024

Nuggets coach Michael Malone addressed the shoe snafu after the game and refused to use it as an excuse.

Man hold up. Nuggets were warming up without shoes??? pic.twitter.com/L6PWo82fRQ

— Per Sources (@PerSources) April 28, 2024

"If you want to dig into stuff and say, well, we lost because for some strange reason our players didn't have their shoes when they got here for their normal warmups, that we had guys out there shooting around with flip-flops, is it ideal? No," Malone said. "But I'm not an excuse guy. And I'm not going to point to the reason we got our butts kicked in the paint because shoes weren't here. I think that's a reach, personally."

Malone instead pointed to the Nuggets' inability to stop the Lakers in the paint, where they scored 72 points.

The Nuggets will look to close out the series—and get the players' shoes on the right bus—in Game 5, which is on Monday night at 10 p.m. ET in Denver.