The Denver Nuggets play the Utah Jazz in an empty stadium. | Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

How do you hype up a crowd when there’s no crowd?

Nikola Jokic, center for the Denver Nuggets, might win the NBA MVP this year. On January 31, he tied a career high with 47 points against the Utah Jazz on his home court, which was an exceptional feat accomplished in near-total silence.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced most sports leagues to operate with extremely limited fan presences for the foreseeable future, and in Colorado, no civilians are permitted to any sports arenas. That has given the games an eerie vibe. If you watch this highlights compilation, the only voice you can hear, save for the TV broadcasters, is that of Kyle Speller, the Nuggets’ public address announcer of 16 years.

Speller