Denver nuggets

Denver nuggets
founding	1967
history	Denver Rockets 1967–1974 Denver Nuggets since 1974
Stadion	Pepsi Center
Location	Denver , Colorado
Club colors	Navy, gold, red, blue    
league	NBA
Conference	Western Conference
division	Northwest Division
Head coach	Michael Malone
General manager	Artūras Karnišovas
owner	E. Stanley Kroenke
Farm teams	Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Championships	no
Conference title	no
Division title	9 (1977, 1978, 1985, 1988, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2019, 2020)
Association Icon Statement

The Denver Nuggets are a Denver , Colorado- based basketball team in the North American professional league NBA . Despite the same name, however, there is no connection to the original Denver Nuggets, which played in the NBA in the 1949/50 season. The arena for the team's home games is the Pepsi Center in Denver.

history

From the ABA to the NBA (1967–1979)

The Nuggets were founded in 1967 under the name Denver Rockets as one of the founding members of the American Basketball Association (ABA). After the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Nuggets moved to the NBA with three other ABA teams. Already for the 1974/75 season the name was changed to the current name "Denver Nuggets". This happened because, in addition to Denver, there was also a team called the Rockets, today's Houston Rockets .

The Nuggets consisted in their first NBA season from the stars David Thompson , Dan Issel and Bobby Jones , as well as trainer Larry Brown . Denver won 50 games this season and qualified for the playoffs. By 1979 the playoffs could be reached. After eliminating in the first round in 1979, coach Brown left the team and was replaced by Donnie Walsh . Walsh failed to live up to expectations and was replaced by Doug Moe in 1981 .

Offensive basketball under Doug Moe (1981–1990)

A rebuilding began under coach Moe. The team has now been built around Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe . With high attack basketball, both players averaged over 25 points each. During this time, the Detroit Pistons also won a 186-184 victory over the Nuggets, after three extra times, in 1983. The game is still the most points-rich game in NBA history. With the philosophy of "Motion Offense", the Nuggets were among the most successful teams of the 80s. The average points average of 126.5 in the 1981-82 season is the highest of an NBA team to this day.

1984/85 the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers . Then you separated from Vandeweghe and traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for Fat Lever . In the 1987-88 season they achieved 54 wins this season, the highest mark since moving to the NBA. In the playoffs, however, followed the early out against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. After two more playoff qualifications, coach Moe left the Nuggets in 1990. The Nuggets had reached the playoffs under him for the last nine times.

Rebuilding and the Mutombo Era (1990–1996)

The upheaval began under Paul Westhead . The aging star player English and Lever switched to the Mavericks. About the NBA Draft 1990 got Chris Jackson in third place, who later called himself Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf . With an aging team without star players, the Nuggets drove in the 1990-91 season only 20 wins, which meant a negative record. In 1991, the Congolese Dikembe Mutombo came in fourth place through the draft to the Nuggets. But his commitment was not yet successful. The nuggets improved marginally to 24 wins this season.

In the following season, the Nuggets formed one of the youngest and most talented teams in the NBA with Abdul-Rauf, Mutombo, Bryant Stith and LaPhonso Ellis . Dan Issel replaced the unsuccessful Westhead as coach. The nuggets improved to 36 wins. In 1994 they reached the playoffs for the first time since 1990 with 42 wins. In the playoffs they surprised as the eighth seeded playoff team, defeating the first seeded Seattle SuperSonics 2: 3 and thus ensured an "upset". In the second round, however, they were narrowly defeated by the favorite Utah Jazz 3: 4.

Spurred on by this success, they strengthened themselves in the summer of 1994 with the sniper Dale Ellis . You also got Jalen Rose through the 1994 NBA Draft . But during the 1994/95 season there were disagreements between coach and team and the Nuggets parted ways with Issel. In addition, young star Ellis was out for the entire season. Nevertheless, the Nuggets qualified again as eighth-placed team for the playoffs, but were eliminated without a win in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs . In the 1995 NBA Draft , the nuggets increased through a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers with Antonio McDyess . While McDyess was built up as the new face of the team for the next few years, Mutombo, Rose and Abdul-Rauf left the Nuggets in the following two years.

The unsuccessful 90s / 2000s (1996-2003)

In the late 1990s, the Nuggets were among the worst teams in the league. In 1996 the playoffs were missed. In the 1997/98 season , the Nuggets lost 23 games in a row, making them the longest losing streak in NBA history to date. At the end of the season it was only enough for 11 wins this season, also a negative club record. The years were characterized by a chaotic personnel policy and changing team owners, in which there were many barter deals and coach changes. The best known was that of Talent McDyess, who was transferred to the Phoenix Suns in 1997 , only to be brought back a year later.

It was not until 2000 that someone took over the team in the form of Stan Kroenke , who planned with them permanently. In terms of sport, an improvement was noticeable and the Nuggets won 40 wins under coach Dan Issel in 2000/01 . Important players at this time were, in addition to McDyess, point guard Nick Van Exel and center Raef LaFrentz . However, after McDyess was seriously injured and had to suspend the 2001/02 season, the Nuggets had no chance. The 2002/03 season ended with only 17 wins and had the worst season record in the league with the Cleveland Cavaliers .

The Carmelo Anthony Era (2003-2011)

Logo from 2003 to 2008

In the 2003 NBA draft , the Nuggets were able to secure the rights of Carmelo Anthony in third place. In addition, the former player Kiki Vandeweghe became the team's new manager. Under Vandeweghe and coach Jeff Bzdelik , the Nuggets improved to 43 wins and reached the playoffs for the first time in nine years. There they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round with 1: 4. During the season, George Karl took over the position of coach with the Nuggets. Karl developed a flourishing offensive around star player Anthony. With Anthony, Andre Miller , Kenyon Martin , Marcus Camby and Nenê , the Nuggets had a talented team that was always eliminated in the first play-off round.

In 2006 superstar Allen Iverson was signed by the Philadelphia 76ers . Anthony and Iverson formed a dangerous offensive duo, each scoring more than 25 points per game, reminiscent of English and Vandeweghe from the 80s. On March 16, 2008 they achieved the highest victory in club history with a 168: 116 win against the Seattle SuperSonics . However, this combination did not bear much fruit on the field. Even with an increasingly aging Iverson, the nuggets did not get past the first play-off round. As a result, defensive anchor Camby was sold to the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2008 . Iverson moved to the Detroit Pistons , in return Chauncey Billups moved to the Nuggets.

With the new star duo Anthony and Billups, the Nuggets increased to 54 wins and won their sixth division title. After winning the playoff series against the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks , they lost 4-2 in the conference final against the eventual champions, the Lakers. In the following season 2009/10 the Nuggets were able to record 53 wins and qualified for the playoffs, despite numerous injury problems of their stars Anthony, Billups and Martin. Despite the home advantage, they surprisingly lost to Utah Jazz in the first round . Vandeweghe handed over the post of manager to Masau Ujiri after the season and the renewed first round in the playoffs .

Success with team basketball (2011-2013)

The 2010-11 season was marked by numerous speculations about star player Anthony. In the end, the Nuggets transferred Anthony to the New York Knicks in February 2011 in order not to lose him in the summer for nothing. With him also co-star Billups went to New York. In return, the Nuggets received, among others, Danilo Gallinari , Wilson Chandler and Raymond Felton from the Knicks. Without star player Anthony, the Nuggets continued to play successful basketball and won 50 at the end of the season. In the playoffs, as so often, it was over in the first round.

In the shortened 2011/12 season you could get 38 wins in 50 games. Young players like point guard Ty Lawson , Gallinari, Arron Afflalo and rookie Kenneth Faried stood out , but veterans like Nene, Al Harrington and returnees Andre Miller also contributed to the success. This success based on team play reached its climax in the 2012/13 season , when the Nuggets set an all-time high in the history of the franchise with 57 wins this season and 15 defeats. They finished second in the Northwest Division behind the Oklahoma City Thunder . Part of this was due to new signing Andre Iguodala , who came to Denver from the 76ers before the season and strengthened the team defense enormously. In the playoffs the result was the same. Despite the home advantage against the Golden State Warriors , the Nuggets were eliminated 2-4. Head coach George Karl received the NBA Coach of the Year Award despite his early departure .

Missing the playoffs and rebuilding (2013-2019)

Nikola Jokić has been playing for the Nuggets since 2015

A few weeks after the end of the season, the Nuggets announced the separation from George Karl in order to set new impulses with a new head coach. Karl's contract was not renewed, although Karl was named Coach of the Year in the NBA last season. Ujiri, manager of the year winner, also left the Nuggets and joined the Toronto Raptors . Star player Iguodala was transferred to the Golden State Warriors after just one year.

Under the new coach Brian Shaw it was not possible to build on the successes from the previous season. Despite almost the same squad as in the previous season, the team only scored 36 wins and missed the playoffs after the last ten appearances in a row. The 2014/15 season showed no development, so Shaw was replaced by Melvin Hunt during the season . After missing the playoffs again, Hunt was replaced by Michael Malone . The team's previous point guard, Ty Lawson , was transferred from the Nuggets to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2015 after repeated misconduct off the field .

The Nuggets started the new season with a young team consisting of the rookies Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokić . Jokić played a good rookie season, Will Barton and Gary Harris improved, but the playoffs were again clearly missed. In the 2016 NBA draft , the Nuggets had three first-round picks with which they signed Canadian Jamal Murray , Spaniard Juan Hernangómez and Malik Beasley . The 2016/17 season resulted in a further increase in the Nuggets record from 33 to 40 wins this season. Especially the young Serbian center Jokić stood out. The playoffs were again, but just missed this season.

In the summer of 2017, the Nuggets strengthened with All-Star Paul Millsap with the aim of reaching the playoffs. Millsap was out for a large part of the season, however, thanks to the good performances of Jokic, Murray and Harris, the Nuggets managed to fight for the playoff with 46 wins of the season until the last day of the game. However, this missed the Nuggets due to a loss to direct competitor Minnesota Timberwolves .

The Jokić era begins (since 2019)

The 2018/19 season was very successful for the Nuggets. The relatively young Nugget team fought for 54 wins this season and surprisingly ended up second behind the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference at the end of the season . Above all Nikola Jokic, who received his first All-Star nomination, had a strong season. In the subsequent playoffs, the Nuggets were able to defeat the experienced San Antonio Spurs 4: 3, but in the Conference semifinals they were defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers 3: 4.

Current squad

Denver Nuggets roster (as of July 11, 2020)

player	Coaches
No. Nat. Surname position birth size info college 1 Michael Porter Jr. Forward 06/29/1998 211 cm R. Missouri 3 Torrey Craig Guard / Forward December 19, 1990 198 cm South Carolina Upstate 4th Paul Millsap Forward 02/10/1985 203 cm Louisiana Tech 5 Will Barton Guard 01/06/1991 198 cm Memphis 6th Keita Bates-Diop Forward 01/23/1996 206 cm Ohio State 9 Jerami Grant Forward 03/12/1994 206 cm Syracuse 10 Bol Bol center 11/16/1999 218 cm G / R Oregon 11 Monté Morris Guard 06/27/1995 191 cm Iowa State 14th Gary Harris Guard 09/14/1994 193 cm Michigan State 15th Nikola Jokic center 02/19/1995 211 cm C. Serbia 24 Mason Plumlee Forward 05.03.1990 211 cm Duke 25th Tyler Cook Forward 09/23/1997 206 cm G / R Iowa 27 Jamal Murray Guard 02/23/1997 193 cm Kentucky 30th Troy Daniels Guard 07/15/1991 193 cm Virginia Commonwealth 31 Vlatko Čančar Forward 04/10/1997 205 cm R / Slovenia 32 Noah Vonleh Forward 08/24/1995 208 cm Indiana 35 PJ Dozier Guard 10/25/1996 198 cm South carolina	Nat. Surname position Michael Malone Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. Assistant coach David Adelman Assistant coach Jordi Fernández Assistant coach John Beckett Assistant coach Charles Klask Assistant coach Dan Shimensky Medical trainer Jason Miller Medical assistant trainer Felipe Eichenberger Strength and conditioning trainer
	Legend Abbr. meaning No. Jersey number Nat. nationality C. Team captain R. Rookie G Two-way contract Inactivity due to injury

Honors and achievements worth mentioning

Carmelo Anthony played for the Nuggets from 2003 to 2011

Jersey numbers that are no longer assigned

No.	Nat.	Surname	position	time
2		Alex English	Forward	1980-1990
33		David Thompson	Forward	1975-1982
40		Byron Beck	center	1967-1977
44		Dan Issel	center	1975-1985
55	0	Dikembe Mutombo	center	1991-1995
432		Doug Moe	Trainer	1981-1990

Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Nat.	Surname	position	time
	John B. McLendon Jr.	Coach and sponsor	1969
	Spencer Haywood	Forward	1969-1970
	Alex Hannum	Coach	1971-1974
	Larry Brown	Coach	1974-1979
	David Thompson	Guard / Forward	1975-1982
	Dan Issel	center	1975-1985
	George McGinnis	Forward	1978-1980
	Alex English	Forward	1980-1990
0	Dikembe Mutombo	center	1991-1996
	Šarūnas Marčiulionis	Guard	1996-1997
	Allen Iverson	Guard	2006-2008

Well-known former players

Surname	current club
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf alias Chris Jackson	Career ended
Carmelo Anthony	Portland Trail Blazers
Marcus Camby	Career ended
Andre Iguodala	Miami Heat
Chauncey Billups	Career ended
Allen Iverson	Career ended
Dikembe Mutombo	Career ended
Nick Van Exel	Career ended
Kiki Vandeweghe	Career ended
Fat Lever	Career ended
Antonio McDyess	Career ended
Jalen Rose	Career ended
Dale Ellis	Career ended
Nenê	Houston Rockets
Andre Miller	Career ended
Ty Lawson	Shandong Heroes

Individual awards

Surname	Award	year
Dikembe Mutombo	NBA Defensive Player of the Year	1995
Marcus Camby	NBA Defensive Player of the Year	2007
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf	NBA Most Improved Player	1993
Doug Moe	NBA Coach of the Year	1988
Vince Boryla	NBA Executive of the Year	1985
Mark Warkentien	NBA Executive of the Year	2009
David Thompson	All-NBA First Team	1977, 1978
Alex English	All-NBA Second Team	1982, 1983, 1986
Fat Lever	All-NBA Second Team	1987
Antonio McDyess	All-NBA Third Team	1999
Carmelo Anthony	All-NBA Third Team	2006, 2007, 2009
Chauncey Billups	All-NBA Third Team	2009
Bobby Jones	NBA All-Defensive First Team	1977, 1978
Marcus Camby	NBA All-Defensive First Team	2007, 2008
Dikembe Mutombo	NBA all-rookie team	1992
LaPhonso Ellis	NBA all-rookie team	1993
Antonio McDyess	NBA all-rookie team	1996
Nenê	NBA all-rookie team	2003
Carmelo Anthony	NBA all-rookie team	2004
George Karl	NBA Coach of the Year	2013

statistics

Playing times in the American Basketball Association

year	Victories: defeats	Wins [%]	Play-offs
Denver Rockets
1967/68	45:33	57.7	2-3 in the Western Division semifinals against the New Orleans Buccaneers
1968/69	44:34	56.4	3: 4 in the Western Division semifinals against the Oakland Oaks
1969/70	51:33	60.7	1: 4 in the Western Division Finals against the Los Angeles Stars
1970/71	30:54	35.7	Not qualified for the play-offs
1971/72	34:50	26.0	3: 4 in the Western Division semifinals against the Indiana Pacers
1972/73	47:37	56.0	1: 4 in the Western Division semi-finals against the Indiana Pacers
1973/74	37:47	44.0	Not qualified for the play-offs
Denver nuggets
1974/75	65:19	77.4	3: 4 in the Western Division Finals against the Indiana Pacers
1975/76	60:24	71.4	3: 4 in the semifinals against the Kentucky Colonels
total	413: 331	55.5	24:32 in the playoffs (42.9%)

1. ^ 0: 1 in the Western Division tie-break against the Texas Chaparrals . Postseason is not included in the play-off statistics.

Playing times in the National Basketball Association

year	Victories: defeats	Wins [%]	Play-offs
Denver nuggets
1976/77	50:32	61.0	2-4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers
1977/78	48:34	58.5	2: 4 in the Western Conference Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics
1978/79	47:35	57.3	1: 2 in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers
1979/80	30:52	36.6	Not qualified for the play-offs
1980/81	37:45	45.1	Not qualified for the play-offs
1981/82	46:36	56.1	1: 2 in the first round against the Phoenix Suns
1982/83	45:37	54.9	1: 4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs
1983/84	38:44	46.3	2: 3 in the first round against the Utah Jazz
1984/85	52:30	63.4	1: 4 in the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers
1985/86	47:35	57.3	2-4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets
1986/87	37:45	45.1	0: 3 in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers
1987/88	54:28	65.9	2-4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks
1988/89	44:38	53.7	0: 3 in the first round against the Phoenix Suns
1989/90	43:39	52.4	0: 3 in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs
1990/91	20:62	24.4	Not qualified for the play-offs
1991/92	24:58	29.3	Not qualified for the play-offs
1992/93	36:46	43.9	Not qualified for the play-offs
1993/94	42:40	51.2	3: 4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz
1994/95	41:41	50.0	0: 3 in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs
1995/96	35:47	42.7	Not qualified for the play-offs
1996/97	21:61	25.6	Not qualified for the play-offs
1997/98	11:71	13.4	Not qualified for the play-offs
1997/98	14:36	28.0	Not qualified for the play-offs
1999/00	35:47	42.7	Not qualified for the play-offs
2000/01	34:48	41.5	Not qualified for the play-offs
2001/02	24:58	29.3	Not qualified for the play-offs
2002/03	17:65	20.7	Not qualified for the play-offs
2003/04	44:38	53.7	1: 4 in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves
2004/05	47:35	57.3	1: 4 in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs
2005/06	44:38	53.7	1: 4 in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers
2006/07	45:37	54.9	1: 4 in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs
2007/08	50:32	61.0	0: 4 in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers
2008/09	54:28	65.9	2: 4 in the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers
2009/10	53:29	64.6	2-4 in the first round against the Utah Jazz
2010/11	50:32	61.0	1: 4 in the first round against the Oklahoma City Thunder
2011/12	38:28	57.6	3: 4 in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers
2012/13	57:25	69.5	2-4 in the first round against the Golden State Warriors
2013/14	36:46	43.9	Not qualified for the play-offs
2014/15	30:52	36.6	Not qualified for the play-offs
2015/16	33:49	40.2	Not qualified for the play-offs
2016/17	40:42	48.8	Not qualified for the play-offs
2017/18	46:36	56.1	Not qualified for the play-offs
2018/19	54:28	65.9	3-4 in the Western Conference semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers
2019/20	46:27	63.0
total	1749: 1802	49.3	68: 108 in the playoffs (38.6%) as of: Reg.Season August 2020

All-time statistics (as of May 2018)

league	Victories: defeats	Won [%]	Playoffs
ABA	413: 331	55.5	24:32 in the playoffs (42.9%)
NBA	1749: 1802	49.3	68: 108 in the play-offs (38.6%)
total	2162: 2133	50.3	92: 140 in the play-offs (39.7%)

See also

• List of Denver Nuggets players

Web links

• Official homepage of the nuggets
• Official squad of the team

1. ↑ http://www.spox.com/de/sport/ussport/nba/1804/Artikel/Analyse/minnesota-timberwolves-haben-nach-overtime-drama-gegen-denver-nuggets-in-den-playoffs.html