The Denver Nuggets finally made it to the playoffs in 2009. Their roster includes a multitude of long-limbed ball-handling wizards. And one young man who is about four feet tall.

Nicholas Owens can’t make a basket. His passing skills are marginal at best, and dribbling is out of the question. Still, he may be the most valuable member of the team. He was recruited for his heart.

Born with spina bifida, Nick’s charm and outgoing personality earned him a job with Children’s Hospital at a young age. Through his work, he was first introduced to the team.

“In 1990, I was named an ambassador for the hospital along with four other children,” Nick recalls.  “We went around representing the hospital at various charity events.  All of us were current patients of the hospital so we could talk from our hearts about the great care we received and how the hospital didn't only care for the patients, but their families, too.”

When he was six, Nick met his first Nugget, 7-foot-2 Dikembe Mutombo. Nick was small enough on his crutches to walk under Mutombo’s legs. The big center bonded with the precocious kid in argyle sweaters and circle glasses, and soon Nuggets officials paired them up at charity events. The team scheduled preseason games against opponents with high-draw players, and donated the proceeds to Children’s.

Mutombo introduced Nick to his teammates, and the boy soon followed all their games on TV. His dream was to work for the Nuggets one day.

Nick was nine when his hips succumbed to severe scoliosis and the weight of a growing body, and he had to give up his crutches for good. At 13, he had an anterior/posterior spine fusion, his 23rd operation.

“I have had many wonderful experiences in my life,” Nick says, when asked to comment about his condition.  “There are many things I can't do, but I have done my best to adapt.  One of the things that we have always said around our house is that we don't use the word ‘can't.’  We don't look at what I can't do, but what I can do, and we make the best of it.

”If I look at my limitations, I miss out on all the possibilities of how I can live life to the fullest.  It also helps when I have support surrounding me.  I have a strong family network which supports me in everything I do.  I have also built up a great friend network, too.”

By the fall of 1998, Nick was feeling well enough to be named the Nugget’s official ball boy. For five years, there were no surgeries. He skied, swam and rode a handcycle when he wasn’t busy with the team. Nick was even tapped to carry the 2002 Olympic torch through Denver.

Nick earned a promotion to locker-room attendant in 1999, gathering player tickets and delivering them to will-call. At school, the aspiring sportscaster interviewed teachers and parents to create a video he called, “Rolling with Nick.”

Inevitably, more surgery became necessary and in 2003 Nick was put in halo traction. The surgery left Nick with some paralysis. Fifty-three long days in the hospital were broken by visits from team members, friends and family as well as plenty of movies and tunes.

A new, 300-pound power wheelchair meant the family would need a specially equipped wheelchair van. A fundraiser was organized by Nick's friends, and Nugget Carmelo Anthony wrote out a check for $30,000 toward the $50,000 needed for the vehicle.

Nick has nothing but positive energy for his team. He waits in the tunnel to high-five players, win or lose. At home, he doesn’t allow any negative comments during their games. He once told an interviewer, “The Nuggets are my lifeline.”

“I live to watch the Nuggets,” he explains.  “I support them no matter how they are doing.  I don't see them or experience them just as a basketball team.  To me, they are great friends.  I see them as individuals, whereas others look at them as icons.  When I go to do my job as a locker room attendant, I get fired up.

“The Pepsi Center is like a second home to me.  The coaches, players and staff are a family and I have the privilege to share in that experience. People ask who my favorite player is on the team.  I tell them that it is everyone.  They are all special, including the coaching staff and administration.”

When the Nuggets went down to the Lakers in the 2009 playoffs, it was a hard blow to Denver fans, especially Nick.

“The loss was hard, but I was proud of the team,” he declares.  “I believe they could have taken the Lakers.  Next year will be the Nuggets’ year.  Now that they have had the taste of being in the conference finals, they know what it will take to get to the next level.

“I was depressed for a couple of days, but after that I knew I needed to move on to the vision of next year.  I watched the NBA finals and I knew the Lakers were going to take it to Orlando.  I think the finals was really the Nuggets against the Lakers.”

And what does the young man who has hung around the Nuggets for 19 years want people to know about him?

“I hope they would see how upbeat I am,” Nick answers.  “I have a great smile and I really care for others.  I would go out of my way to help anybody that I could.  I also have a great sense of humor and enjoy life to the fullest.”

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