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One of the top athletic trainers in the NBA, Jim Gillen is in his 16th season with the Nuggets. He is responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of all injuries, in conjunction with the team’s medical staff.
In addition, he serves as the team’s travel coordinator and works closely with Strength and Conditioning Coach Steve Hess to monitor the Nuggets’ workout regimen and diet.
Gillen traveled across town in 1991 to join the Nuggets after serving as the assistant athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos from ‘87-90. During his tenure with the Broncos, Gillen accompanied the team to three Super Bowls. He and Broncos Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos were named the NFL’s Athletic Training Staff of the Year in ‘87.
Prior to joining the Broncos, Gillen was an athletic trainer for the AMI/Denver Broncos Sports Medicine Clinic in 1987 and served as the head athletic trainer at Overland High School from ‘82-86 and Aurora Central High School from ‘80-82.
After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fort Hays State (Kan.), Gillen was the head athletic trainer at Roosevelt High School in San Antonio before moving to Denver.
A member of the National Athletic Trainers Association and the American College of Sports Medicine, Gillen is a past president of the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association. He is also past Chairman of the NBA Athletic Trainers Association and is a recipient of the National Athletic Trainers Association 25 Year Award.
Gillen has served as an athletic trainer at three NBA All-Star Games, working the 2005 (Denver) and 2003 (Atlanta) contests as the head trainer for the Western Conference and the 1995 game in Phoenix as an assistant.
In 2002, he was honored with the Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year Award and was an athletic trainer for USA Basketball at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis.
Gillen established the Excellence in High School Athletic Training Award in 2003 given annually to the top high school athletic training program in Colorado. The recipient receives a monetary donation for supplies and equipment and is recognized at a Nuggets home game.
A native of Meade, Kan., Gillen and his wife, Dawn, reside in Centennial. Their family includes daughter Jamee Ulitzky, her husband Josh and their sons Joey and Jordan; son J.D., his wife Emily and their daughters Alexsis and Aspen; Amanda Lloyd and her husband J and Rachel. | 