15 players you forgot suited up for the Denver Nuggets
By Dean Hasan
3. Dale Ellis (1994-97)
In the 1986-87 season, Dale Ellis took home the Most Improved Player award after jumping from 7.1 points per game in his prior season with the Mavericks to a 24.9 point per game scorer with the Seattle Supersonics. During his four year peak in Seattle, he averaged 25.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game on .505/.412/.795 splits and made one All-Star and one All-NBA team.
By the time he arrived in Denver at age 34, he wasn’t quite the same player. However, he remained a reliable scoring option both off the bench and from the starting lineup. In his first season, he saw just under 25 minutes of playing time and managed 11.3 points, 2.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game on excellent .453/.403/.866 splits in 81 games, 78 of which were off the bench.
The following two seasons, he saw an expansion of his role as he started in 52 and 51 games respectively. He also saw an uptick in shots, jumping from 9.8 attempts his first season to 11.8 and 14.0 attempts a night in the following two seasons. Ellis might’ve been a great fit for the modern NBA as well, as he averaged 14.9 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting from deep (4.5 attempts per game) in 1995-96 and 16.6 points per game on 36.4 percent from three (6.4 attempts per game) in the 1996-97 season.
While Denver didn’t enjoy much success during Ellis’ tenure aside from a first-round exit in the 1994-95 season, Ellis had numerous excellent scoring nights throwing back to his glory days with the Sonics. In the 1995-96 season, he had two 30-plus point outings, the best of which was a 33-point, eight-rebound, five-assist, five three-game against the Suns on Mar. 3, 1996.
The next season, he had three 30-plus point games, all of which occurred during a brilliant eight-game stretch from Nov. 5 to Nov. 16, 1996. During this time, Ellis averaged 27.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep on 8.8 attempts per game.
While that season ended disappointingly for the Nuggets, who finished with a 21-61 record, Ellis’ season was anything but, and his 33 20-plus point games were certainly a joy for fans to watch.