Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado, competing in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.[1] Founded in 1967, the franchise spent its first nine seasons in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA) before joining the NBA in 1976. After more than four decades of playoff appearances without a title, the Nuggets captured their first NBA championship in 2023, defeating the Miami Heat in five games behind the dominant play of center Nikola Jokić.[2] The team plays its home games at Ball Arena in downtown Denver, which it shares with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League.[3]
Origins and Early History
The Denver Nuggets are Colorado's professional basketball team, competing in the NBA as part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. While an amateur-league team named the Denver Nuggets competed in the 1930s and 1940s, the current franchise was founded in 1967 as the Denver Larks, then part of the ABA. The name "Larks" was a nod to Colorado's state bird, the lark bunting, but the franchise nearly folded before it ever played a game. The original owner was unable to find a suitable arena within the Kansas City area, and ABA commissioner George Mikan suggested moving the team to Denver instead.
Hours before a critical financial deadline, the original owner sold a two-thirds controlling interest to Denver trucking magnate Bill Ringsby and his son for $350,000. Ringsby immediately renamed the team the Rockets, after his local company's long-haul trucks called the "Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines." Playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena, the Rockets had early successes on the court and developed a strong fan base.
Led by local favorite Byron Beck out of the University of Denver, the Rockets had winning records in each of their first three seasons. Ringsby later sold the team to San Diego businessmen Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer in 1972 following troubles with his trucking operations.
In 1974, in anticipation of moving into the NBA and the new McNichols Arena, the franchise held a contest to choose a new team nickname, as "Rockets" was already in use by the Houston Rockets. The winning choice was "Nuggets," in honor of the original Denver Nuggets NBL team from 1948 to 1950. The "Nuggets" name also carried a deeper resonance with Colorado's heritage: the name was inspired by the mining surge in Colorado. The renaming became official on August 7, 1974.[4]
ABA Years and the Move to the NBA
The newly christened Nuggets posted the best record in the ABA in 1974–75 behind the standout play of guard-forward Ralph Simpson. However, Denver was upset by the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division finals. The Nuggets did advance to the ABA finals the following year after once again having the best record in the league, but they lost to the New York Nets in six games.
With the arrival of journeyman coach Larry Brown and stars Dan Issel and David Thompson, the team reached the ABA finals in 1975–76 and then moved to the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, New York Nets, and Indiana Pacers. The Nuggets were the last of the four surviving former ABA teams to reach the NBA Finals, and the second former ABA team to win an NBA title, after the San Antonio Spurs.
In the first post-merger season, the Nuggets proved to be the most successful of the former ABA squads, winning a division title and appearing in the playoffs, where they lost to the eventual champion, the Portland Trail Blazers. Led by future Hall of Fame members Dan Issel and David Thompson, Denver won its division for a second straight year in 1977–78, and in the postseason the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals before being eliminated by the Seattle SuperSonics.[5]
The Doug Moe Era and the 1980s
In 1980, Denver traded for forward Alex English, who would go on to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer in ten and a half seasons with the Nuggets. During English's second season with Denver, Doug Moe took over as head coach.
English dominated during the 1980s. During his ten full seasons in Denver, he played in eight straight All-Star Games, won a scoring title, averaged more than 23 points nine years in a row, and led the Nuggets to nine consecutive postseason appearances. The sleek, 6-foot-7 forward became the first player ever to string together eight straight 2,000-point seasons. English finished his time as a Nugget with 21,645 points, remaining the franchise's all-time leading scorer in the regular season.
During the 1980s, the Nuggets often scored in excess of 115 points a game, and during the 1981–82 season they scored at least 100 points in every game. The NBA-record streak was halted at 136 consecutive games. During the 1981–82 season, the Nuggets set the league scoring record for the highest points per game average at 126.5 points. Despite the prolific offense, Moe and English guided the Nuggets to nine consecutive postseason berths between 1981–82 and 1989–90, including another conference finals appearance — a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984–85. However, English and Moe both left the team after the 1989–90 season, having never brought a title to Denver.[6]
The 1990s Through the Carmelo Anthony Era
The 1990s were not particularly noteworthy for the Nuggets, with one considerable exception: the 1993–94 season. In that season, the only one in which the team posted a winning record between the 1990–91 and 1999–2000 seasons, the Nuggets had a 42–40 record, earning them the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs against the Seattle SuperSonics, owners of the best record in the NBA that season. Led by center Dikembe Mutombo, the Nuggets rallied from a 2–0 series deficit to win three straight games to become the first eighth seed in NBA playoff history to defeat a top-seeded team. The Nuggets' momentum after the upset could not be sustained, and the team was eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the second round.
The team's low point came when it tied for the worst record in the NBA in 2002–03 with a 17–65 record, also with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team's struggles were due in part to ownership instability. The turnaround began with the arrival of Carmelo Anthony, who was selected third overall in the 2003 NBA draft. In just seven-and-a-half seasons, Anthony accumulated 13,970 points — third best in Nuggets history — and with his ability to shoot from outside, create his own shot, and finish in traffic, became a four-time All-Star with the franchise.
The Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976 and have since posted nine straight playoff appearances between 1981 and 1989 and ten straight playoff appearances between 2003 and 2013. In 2000, the Nuggets were purchased by businessman Stan Kroenke, who also bought the NHL's Colorado Avalanche at the same time. In partnership with his son Josh, founder-owner Stan Kroenke — a son-in-law of Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton — also owns the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, the Colorado Mammoth, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.[7]
The Nikola Jokić Era and the 2023 NBA Championship
A long period of rebuilding, which saw the drafting of future NBA superstar Nikola Jokić in 2014 and the hiring of head coach Michael Malone in 2015, paid off during the 2022–23 season after the team finished at the top of the Western Conference with a 53–29 record. Success followed into the playoffs, where the team defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Lakers to earn a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time in the history of the franchise. The Nuggets then bested the Miami Heat four games to one to claim their first-ever NBA championship.
Jokić's performance during the 2023 Finals was historic. He finished the NBA Finals averaging 30.2 points, 14 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, and became the first player in NBA history to lead the entire postseason in total points (600), total rebounds (269), and total assists (186). In Game 5, Jokić put up 28 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists on 12-of-16 shooting in a 94–89 victory, leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship while winning Finals MVP. He was unanimously voted as Finals MVP and became the lowest draft pick in NBA history to win the award.[8]
An eight-time NBA All-Star, Jokić has been named to the All-NBA Team on seven occasions (including five first-team selections), and won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2023–24 seasons. Jokić was selected by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. His ascent from a second-round pick to the franchise's greatest player is one of the most remarkable development stories in NBA history.[9]
Franchise Records and Notable Players
The franchise has played 59 seasons total (50 in the NBA and 9 in the ABA), accumulating a combined record of 2,453–2,300 (.516 win-loss percentage) and 40 total playoff appearances (31 NBA and 9 ABA).
Among the most celebrated players in franchise history are:
- Alex English — One of the most dominant players of his era, Alex English remains the Nuggets' all-time leading scorer.
- David Thompson — Thompson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 and is one of only five players to score more than 70 points in a game.
- Dan Issel — A Hall of Fame center who anchored the team during its transition from the ABA to the NBA and throughout the high-scoring 1980s teams.
- Dikembe Mutombo — The defensive anchor of the 1993–94 Nuggets team that produced one of the greatest upsets in playoff history.
- Nikola Jokić — A three-time NBA MVP and eight-time All-Star who led Denver to its first NBA title in 2023.
Six former players have their jersey numbers retired by the team and immortalized at Ball Arena, comprising the core of the franchise's 59-year history: Alex English, Dan Issel, David Thompson, Dikembe Mutombo, Fat Lever, and Byron Beck.[10]
The team's home arena is Ball Arena, and its colors include midnight blue, sunshine yellow, Flatirons red, and skyline blue. With a reputation for high-scoring games, the Nuggets have consistently embraced an exciting style of play, although their defense has often been a point of critique.[11]