The Denver Nuggets are a pro basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the NBA.
Franchise history
Early years
The team was originally slated to play in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Denver. They tended to struggle in the postseason early and failed to make a championship game during this span. They had a solid lineup led by Byron Beck and Larry Jones, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. Controversial rookie Spencer Haywood joined the team for the 1969-70 season.
1980s
Brown left the team in 1979. It ended in 1981, when they hired Doug Moe as a head coach. During the 1980s, the Nuggets would often score in excess of 115 points a game, and during the 1981-82 season, they scored at least 100 points in every game.
1990s
Moe left the team in 1990, and was replaced by Paul Westhead. Westhead gave the green light for players like Michael Adams and Chris Jackson. However, Westhead cared even less about defense than Moe. As a result, while the Nuggets set more scoring records, they also set records for points surrendered. They finished with the worst record in the league for two seasons in a row.
Denver took a positive step in rebuilding by drafting 7-2 Georgetown University center in 1992. Denver finished 24-58 that year. Denver flirted with history in the 1997-98, by nearly setting the mark for fewest wins in an 82 game season. They would tie the NBA’s all-time worst single-season losing streak at 23 games. Several years later, the Nuggets tied for the worst record in the NBA in 2002-03.
Present
The team has shown signs of another renaissance for the 2003-04 season, with the drafting of Carmelo Anthony. In just two months of the season, they recorded more wins than they had in 5 months of play in 2002-03. He added crucial personnel including Andre Miller, Nene, Earl Boykins, Marcus Camby, and Jon Barry. In April they became the first franchise in NBA history to qualify for the postseason following a sub-20-win campaign the previous year. They were eliminated in the first round, four games to one, by the Minnesota Timberwolves. On December 28, 2004, head coach Jeff Bzdelik was replaced by Michael Cooper, before finally hiring George Karl as a permanent replacement. In the playoffs, however, the Nuggets could not survive the powerhouse defense of Manu Ginobili and the San Antonio Spurs. After winning game one in San Antonio, the Nuggets proceeded to lose the next four games and lost the series 4-1. The Nuggets picked 20th in the 2005 NBA Draft.
For the first time in 18 years in 2005-06, the club won the Northwest division title. This placed the team in the third seed of the Western Conference playoffs. Due to their relatively weak record the Nuggets were forced to play the Los Angeles Clippers They defeated the Nuggets in 5 games.
On, December 18, 2006, Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Nene were suspended by the NBA.
Iverson arrives
On December 19, 2006, the Nuggets traded Joe Smith, Andre Miller, and two first-round drafts picks in the 2007 draft to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ivan McFarlin and superstar Allen Iverson. On January 11, 2007, Earl Boykins, Julius Hodge, and cash considerations were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for point guard Steve Blake. However, chemistry would be an issue as the Nuggets finished the regular season with the #6 seed. In the playoffs, the Nuggets got off to a fast start, winning game 1. However, in an eerie repeat of the 2005 playoffs, the Spurs bounced back to win the next four, as the Nuggets were eliminated in the first round in five games for the fourth straight year.
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