Media Day had the NBA world buzzing on Monday as the remaining 25 teams across the league spoke with press and reporters. While Raptors Nation was tuned in to the most noteworthy highlights from their beloved team's festivities, one ex-Raptors player took the opportunity during his media day appearance to talk some smack about his short-time home. That player was now returning Nuggets veteran guard Bruce Brown.
Brown was a key X factor for the Denver Nuggets during their 2023 NBA championship run. After the team celebrated their victory and moved into the 2023 offseason, Brown hit free agency. During the team parade, he highlighted that re-signing with the Nuggets was a priority for him. However, Brown decided to chase the bigger payday, signing a two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers.
Though, Brown's time in Indiana would be rendered to just 33 games, as he was shipped off to Toronto as the primary contract to match Pascal Siakam in a late January 2024 blockbuster trade.
Bruce Brown's time in Toronto can really be summed up as a period of trying to find a way to get rid of him, whether through a trade or a buyout. In the end, Brown stayed in Toronto for two seasons (not full), making a total of 52 appearances. It wasn’t until the Raptors leveraged Brown’s contract as part of their aggressive pursuit of Brandon Ingram at this past trade deadline, where he then joined the New Orleans Pelicans for a brief period.
Fast forward to September 2025. Although Brown had mentioned at one point that he was considering extending his stay with the Pelicans after arriving there, the 29-year-old veteran had some strong words about the past couple of years he's spent with different franchises before finally returning home to Denver.
Brown said during Nuggets Media Day 2025:
Bruce Brown never wanted to be with the Toronto Raptors
"I think it clicked really fast. I think Indie [Indiana Pacers] was great for me when I was there, but it was only 3 months that I was there and once I got to Toronto, I think we were on two different roads, right? They're rebuilding and trying to build their team up. And I think I was past that time. So I think right away, soon as I got there, I thought about coming back."Bruce Brown on his time in Toronto
In a piece by senior NBA writer Marc Spears for Andscape, he highlights some additional comments from Bruce Brown about his time with Toronto and New Orleans, as referenced in the X post below:
“As soon as I got to Toronto, I thought about coming back to Denver right away. Fast forward to getting traded to New Orleans... A lot of injuries there. And the whole time I was in New Orleans, I was thinking about the Nuggets,” Nuggets guard Bruce Brown. https://t.co/BPm6merXOD
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 29, 2025
Looking back, I remember Brown telling the media that he wanted to stay in Toronto and New Orleans at certain points. But now, with his dream of returning to Denver coming true, it’s pretty obvious that those earlier statements were just the stylish cowboy whispering sweet nothings to his short-term franchises. As one controversial ex-Raptors guard once said: "Toronto is not my preferred destination. I have higher ambitions."
But credit to Brown for being able to find his way back with the Nuggets organization; it's clearly somewhere he holds in a high regard and wants to be a part of — he did win a chip there after all.