This year’s National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs were an unexpected boost for me. As the Denver Nuggets steamrolled to their first championship in franchise history, it was a sudden resurrection of my childhood obsession with basketball, with the additional bonus of it being a bonding fan experience with my kids and friends. One of the people who made it so special was Nuggets guard Bruce Brown — who right now faces a complicated life choice inside a parable about the larger American economy.

First, a little bit about this player that I love: Brown is the NBA version of a best supporting actor in a great movie. He’s that hyperenthusiastic, multitalented off-the-bench force just below the superstar level who turns good squads into champions. He’s one of the few Vinnie Johnsons of his era — the type of player embodying the real teamness of the best version of a sport whose professional league too often promotes an annoying one-on-five, MVP-savior vibe.

So after the Nuggets won the finals, my kids and friends and I were high-fiving when we read the news that Brown wants to stay in Denver for another season, even if the NBA salary cap would mean such a decision would require him to accept less financial remuneration than he could get as a free agent on the open market.