The Denver Nuggets trace their history back to the creation of the American Basketball Association in 1967-68, when the team was named the Denver Rockets. Named for the parent company of original owner Bill Ringsby, Ringsby Rocket Trucking, the franchise has been one of the most consistently successful franchises in the NBA, yet has been unable to get over the championship hump.
The Rockets were Denver’s second foray into professional basketball. There was a franchise called the Denver Nuggets that played in the final season of the National Basketball League in 1948-49 and joined the NBA when the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America in 1949. But after going 18-44 in their lone NBL campaign and following that with an 11-51 debut in the NBA, the team folded.
In 1974, the team was renamed the Nuggets in anticipation of a potential merger with the NBA—which already had the Houston Rockets. The Nuggets were one of two teams, the New York Nets being the other, which tried to gain entry into the more established league in 1975, a year before the leagues eventually merged.
In the ABA, the Rockets/Nuggets made the playoffs in each of the league’s nine seasons but reached the ABA Finals just once, losing to the Nets in the swan song season of 1975-76.
Since coming into the NBA, Denver has made the playoffs in 24 of its 38 seasons, but has never advanced beyond the conference finals, which they have reached three times—losing to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1978 and to the Los Angeles Lakers in both 1985 and 2009.
The longest playoff drought for the Nuggets came from 1996-2003, when the team missed the postseason for eight consecutive seasons. They have reached the playoffs in each of the last 10 seasons, the second-longest run of postseason qualification in franchise history behind the 12 put together in the team’s first 12 seasons (1968-79).
So who are the best players by position in the history of the Denver Nuggets franchise?
NOTE: Players must have appeared in 250 regular-season games with the franchise to be considered for this list.
Small Forward: Alex English (1980-90)
Alex English is the Nuggets’ all-time leading scorer.
Alex English came to the Nuggets along with a 1980 first-round draft pick from the Indiana Pacers in February 1980 in exchange for George McGinnis. It was one of the best moves the Nuggets ever made.
English was an eight-time All-Star with Denver, making three All-NBA teams and leading the league in scoring in 1982-83 and total points in both 1982-83 and 1985-86. He also led the NBA in turnover percentage in his final season with the Nuggets in 1989-90.
In parts of 11 seasons in Denver, English averaged 25.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the line.
He is the franchise’s all-time leader in points (21,645), assists (3,679) and games (837) and also ranks third with 854 steals, fourth with 4,686 rebounds and tied for fifth with 624 blocked shots. His 25.9 scoring average is also the team’s best and his 50.9 field-goal shooting and 84 percent free-throw accuracy are both ninth best in Denver history.
English’s 6.3 turnover percentage in 1989-90 is a Nuggets’ single-season record.
Here are some highlights from English’s time in Denver:
English left the Nuggets in August 1990 to sign as an unrestricted free agent with the Dallas Mavericks and he retired in 1992 after spending one season in Italy. Most recently, English was an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings, but he was not retained after coach Keith Smart was fired after last season. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Apologies to: Carmelo Anthony, Reggie Williams, James Posey, Julian Hammond.
Power Forward: Kiki Vandeweghe (1980-84)
Kiki Vandeweghe shown on a 1983 Star card.
Kiki Vandeweghe was picked 11th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft by the expansion Dallas Mavericks, but he didn’t want to go to a brand new team. Dallas’ loss was Denver’s gain as in December 1980, the Nuggets traded 1981 and 1985 first-round draft picks to the Mavericks to get the rights to Vandeweghe as well as a first-round pick in 1986.
Vandeweghe was picked for two All-Star Games while with Denver and led the league in offensive win shares in 1982-83.
In four years with the Nuggets, Vandeweghe averaged 23.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the floor and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line.
His 6,829 points place him 10th on the franchise’s all-time list. He is fourth with a 54.1 field-goal percentage and sixth with an 85.7 free-throw percentage. His 23.3 points per game average is sixth best in Denver history.
One of Vandeweghe’s best games as a Nugget was when he went off for 50 points against the San Antonio Spurs in 1984:
In June 1984, Vandeweghe was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Wayne Cooper, Fat Lever, Calvin Natt, a 1984 second-round draft pick and a first-rounder in 1985. He went on to play for the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers before retiring in 1993. Since his playing career ended, he was general manager of the Nuggets from 2001-06 and also served in that capacity for the New Jersey Nets from 2007-10, also acting as the team’s interim coach for much of the 2009-10 season.
Apologies to: Bobby Jones, Antonio McDyess, LaPhonso Ellis, Kenyon Martin.
Center: Dan Issel (1975-85)
Dan Issel, shown on a 1978 Topps card.
Dan Issel escaped the wreckage of a collapsing franchise and landed on his feet in October 1976, when he was acquired from the soon-to-fold Baltimore Claws—who never played a game in their lone ABA season—for Dave Robisch and cash. Issel went on to become a franchise icon in Denver as a player, coach and executive.
As a player for one ABA season and nine more in the NBA, Issel averaged 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor.
Issel played in one ABA and one NBA All-Star Game representing the Nuggets and was an All-ABA selection in 1975-76 and he led the NBA in turnover percentage in 1980-81.
Issel is Denver’s all-time leading rebounder with 6,630 and is also second with 16,589 points and 802 games, fourth with 798 steals and sixth with 2,005 assists. His 20.7 points per game is seventh in team history and he is the franchise’s all-time leader with 94.8 win shares.
A typical Issel game was one like the 34 points he put up against the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978:
Issel retired after the 1984-85 season and despite having no coaching experience, was hired to coach the Nuggets in 1992. In 1994, Issel led Denver to a first-round upset of the Seattle SuperSonics, becoming the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in NBA playoff history. He resigned midway through the following season, but returned to Denver as general manager in 1998 and took over coaching duties in December 1999, relinquishing front office duties. He resigned in December 2001. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Apologies to: Marcus Camby, Nene, Byron Beck, Dikembe Mutombo.
Shooting Guard: David Thompson (1975-82)
David Thompson remembered on a 2012 Panini Prism card.
David Thompson, nicknamed “Skywalker,” came to the Nuggets after being drafted first overall by both the Atlanta Hawks in the 1975 NBA Draft and by the Virginia Squires in the ABA Draft the same year. Denver sent cash, Mack Calvin, Mike Green and Jan van Breda Kolff to Virginia to acquire Thompson’s draft rights and he didn’t disappoint.
Thompson was the MVP of the ABA All-Star Game as a rookie and was also the league’s Rookie of the Year. He went on to be a three-time All-Star in the NBA with the Nuggets, winning All-Star MVP honors in 1979. He was an All-ABA selection in his lone season in that league and was twice named to the All-NBA first team.
In seven seasons with the Nuggets, Thompson averaged 24.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor and staged an amazing individual duel with George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs on the final day of the 1977-78 season. Thompson scored 73 points against the Detroit Pistons to take the lead in the scoring race, but Gervin scored 63 later that night to win the crown. However, his career began to spiral downward after that season because of injuries and substance abuse problems.
Thompson is fourth in Denver history with 11,992 points. He is fifth with 24.1 points per game and his 50.7 field-goal percentage ranks him 10th.
His 10.8 offensive win shares in 1977-78 are a team single-season record.
Here are Thompson’s top 10 plays as a Nugget:
Thompson was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in June 1982 for Bill Hanzlik and a 1982 first-round draft pick and was out of the league by 1984. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 and was later picked by Michael Jordan to present him at Jordan’s 2009 induction.
Apologies to: Ralph Simpson, Bryant Stith, T.R. Dunn, J.R. Smith.
Point Guard: Fat Lever (1984-90)
Fat Lever is shown in a 1986 Fleer card.
Fat Lever came to the Nuggets in June 1984 along with Wayne Cooper, Calvin Natt and a pair of draft picks (a 1984 second-rounder and a first-rounder in 1985) from the Portland Trail Blazers for Kiki Vandeweghe and he became one of the most versatile and prolific point guards in the league in Denver.
Lever was a two-time All-Star in Denver and was named to one All-NBA team and one All-Defensive team.
In six seasons as a Nugget, Lever averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
Lever is Denver’s career leader with 1,167 steals and is also second with 3,566 assists, seventh with 8,081 points and eighth with 3,621 rebounds. He is also the team’s all-time leader with 2.5 steals per game and his 7.5 assists per game is second.
Lever’s 223 steals in 1987-88 is a Nuggets’ single-season record, as is his 2.7 steals per game in 1988-89.
Lever was a constant triple-double threat, such as in this performance against the Chicago Bulls in 1988:
Lever was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in June 1990 for first-round picks in 1990 and 1991 and left the NBA after he was released by Dallas in September 1994. He is currently director of player development for the Sacramento Kings.
Apologies to: Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson, Michael Adams, Andre Miller.