LA JOLLA, Calif.—The NBA'S Denver Nuggets recently concluded their preseason camp on the UC San Diego campus. For the second year in a row, the Nuggets utilized UC San Diego's LionTree Arena for a week-long training as they prepared for the 2022-23 season. The organization also trained at UC San Diego in the fall of 2021.
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"It's amazing. What place has five courts like this?" said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. "Somebody asked me on Media Day, why do you go to San Diego. We make it work in Denver, that's what we have right now. We've had great success with it in my first seven years. But when you have 20 players here and you've got a big staff, we've got all these courts. We love the accommodations. The people here at UC San Diego have been phenomenal to us."
"It's great for our program to have the Nuggets—or any pro team—come in and utilize our facility," said UC San Diego women's basketball head coach,
Heidi VanDerveer. "It's a world-class facility and obviously they recognize that as well. It gives us an opportunity as coaches to watch, learn and listen and ask questions. They were very open and willing to help us and exchange ideas, which is great for us as coaches. But also, it's great for our team to be able to watch professionals go about their business—the consistency and details in drills, and just how pros approach practice was impactful. It benefits us greatly and it was nice to see LionTree Arena get the attention it so rightly deserves."
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"We are fortunate to have a facility and be in a location that is in-demand for NBA Training Camps – something we've hosted almost every year since I have been here," said UC San Diego men's basketball head coach
Eric Olen. "Having the Nuggets back again this season presented a terrific opportunity for us as coaches to learn the way their staff operates at the highest level of basketball. This last week was also invaluable for our guys to observe the way they prepare and work every day as many aspire to create professional opportunities for themselves down the road."
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"We love it here," said Malone. "It's our third time [in San Diego]...We love it."
NBA Champions have frequently trained and taught inside LionTree Arena (formerly RIMAC Arena) since the building opened in 1995. In 2009, LeBron James held his first King's Academy summer camp at RIMAC. More than 500 youngsters from 23 states and nine countries descended upon UC San Diego to receive instruction from James and his staff. Four years later, former L.A. Clipper Chris Paul hosted more than 300 campers at the Chris Paul Basketball Camp at the facility.
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The original Dream Team got its start at UC San Diego. The 1992 Olympics Team USA men's basketball squad trained at Main Gym before heading off to win gold in Barcelona, Spain. You can read more about that by clicking here.
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The Nuggets will open their 2022-23 regular season on October 19.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference inÂ
NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.comÂ
or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.Â
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