The Lead
Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning sat courtside for the Nuggets' opening win in the NBA Finals on Thursday, but he popped away from the court to join ESPN's Stephen A. Smith for a ManningCast-esque presentation of the game.
"I've been living in Denver for 11 years now," Manning told Smith, who welcomed guests during the course of the game. "Football town, hockey town and now a basketball town. It's been great and it's been a fun run to watch these guys."
Manning sat near Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton and visited with quarterback Russell Wilson, and he chatted briefly with Smith about the Broncos.
"Sean has brought some new juice here, he's going to get the best out of Russell," Manning said. "Russell feels rejuvenated as well. I like my Broncos."
Manning joked that he wished "the Chiefs would get out of the division" to help his former team, with which he won Super Bowl 50.
"Unfortunately they're not going anywhere," Manning said, "so we've still got some work to do."
