DENVER — The Denver Nuggets' season is over after a Game 6 elimination at the hands of Minnesota, and fans are already calling for changes.
Jeff Van Feldt has cheered on the Nuggets all season long.
"This season has been really up and down, really good at the beginning, lot of injuries which kind of forced us down," Van Feldt said.
The disappointment was felt not just locally, but by fans who traveled from halfway around the globe to cheer on their favorite player.
"I started to watch him, like, 10 years ago when he came here in the Denver," said Stefan Bukharinovich, who came all the way from Serbia to watch Nikola Jokic in person for the first time in Denver. "We are very proud in him, and I am very proud how the people talking about him here is Denver."
Going into the do-or-die Game 6, some fans held out hope despite the team being down in the series.
"I think it's the electricity of the crowd, the synergy of the team, and the hope that they're going to make Game 7, really make that final push and win this," Lakewood resident Nicolas Newell said ahead of the game.
The Nuggets' success throughout the season helped fuel business in spots like McGregor Square.
"I think everyone that was already a really big sports fan is just, like, really turning it up this year. So it's a lot of excitement," McGregor Square COO Brooke Bishop said.
Britt Dihel from Downtown Denver Partnerships said the team's run had a broader economic impact.
"Sports really do have a ripple effect on our economy, most of the time, people are not just walking into ball arena and then heading home," Dihel said. "They are grabbing dinner before, maybe grabbing a drink, maybe just taking a little stroll, hopefully celebrating afterwards, sometimes drowning their sorrows."
With hopes of another trip to the finals now gone, Van Feldt said something is missing from this year's squad.
"I just think maybe we've lost a little bit of something that pushes us over the edge," Van Feldt said.
As the organization heads back to the drawing board, Van Feldt pointed to coaching as a place to start.
"I would definitely say it's more of a coaching thing, because you've got the guys in place," Van Feldt said.
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