15 players you forgot suited up for the Denver Nuggets
By Dean Hasan
11. Kenny Smith (1996-97)
He’s now known primarily for his work on the Inside the NBA crew on TNT alongside Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal, but during his playing career, Kenny Smith was a solid starting point guard, and he won two championships with the Rockets.
The Jet spent 33 games with the Nuggets during the 1996-97 season after bouncing around several other teams. He began the season with the Pistons but was waived after just nine games. About a month later he was picked up by the Magic who again waived him, this time after just six games. Three weeks later, Denver signed Smith and he remained with the team through the end of the season.
While Smith struggled in his limited role with the Pistons and Magic, he had some great games off the bench for Denver and made an overall positive impact. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.1 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game, and owned .422/.419/.854 splits over his 33 games with the team.
Among Smith’s best games with the Nuggets were an 18-point, eight-assist game against his old Rockets on Mar. 29, 1997, a 13-point, six-assist, three-steal outing against the Milwaukee Bucks one day later, and a 13-point, seven-assist performance in his final game as a pro against the Dallas Mavericks on April 19, 1997.