The Denver Nuggets' 2023 NBA championship rings are loaded with exciting Easter Eggs, including two never-before-seen design innovations — a bonus ring-within-a-ring as well as a special lever that changes the background gems on the team's logo from blue to white.
When discussing what kind of special features might be included in the ring, Nuggets president and governor Josh Kroenke was clear to designer Jason Arasheben that he didn't want anything that's been done before.
Arasheben, the CEO of Jason of Beverly Hills, worked with Kroenke, six Nuggets players and his own creative team to come up with elements that were truly unique.
The Nuggets' 2023 championship ring is the first to feature a ring in a ring. A retractable compartment reveals a smaller yellow gold ring hidden inside the larger white gold ring. The yellow gold ring, which is topped with the NBA championship banner, is less ostentatious than the host ring and can be worn separately.
The second unique design element is a lever that can alter the gemstones seen behind the mountain peak and pickaxes logo on the face of the ring. The blue sapphires represent the 2023 Nuggets, but the background can change to white diamonds — a nod to the team's 1967 origin as an ABA team. The Nuggets merged into the NBA in 1976, along with three other ABA teams.
"We're one of four franchises that were merged to the NBA from the ABA so we have that date on there as a nod to our ABA past, which I wanted to make sure we acknowledged," Kroenke told ESPN.com. "And all the players and coaches will, no matter where they go with that ring, always have the banner with them as well, which I think is a very special and unique feature."
Overall, the ring contains 17 individual components and more than 16 carats of yellow and white diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Each gemstone represents one of the team's official colors and the gemstone total weight signifies the number of Nuggets' playoff victories achieved on the way to the championship.
Overlaying the Larry O'Brien trophy on the face of the ring, the team name "NUGGETS" is rendered in 24 points of yellow diamonds, an acknowledgement of the team's 24 years at Denver's Ball Arena.
The 89 points of rubies encircling the ring's shoulders is symbolic of the number of points scored by the Miami Heat in the deciding championship Game 5. Below the rubies and above the finger hole, the number 5280 in raised white gold lettering represents Denver's altitude above sea level.
On one side of the ring is the player's name in polished gold lettering against a contrasting gold-nugget-textured background. Below the player's name is his number rendered in white diamonds, and below the number is the team's 2023 slogan, "BRING IT IN."
The other side of the ring features the words "WORLD CHAMPIONS" along with the team's retro logo and 2023 regular season record of 53-29. Above the words are a row of 15 diamonds symbolizing the 15 playoff games played at Ball Arena during the championship season.
Credits: Images courtesy of Jason of Beverly Hills.