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Denver Nuggets
Wesstern Conference/Northwest Division

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History of the Nuggets

The city of Denver has had Professional Basketball in town since the 1967/68 season and the team was known as the Denver Rockets (named after owner Bill Ringsby’s company Ringsby Rocket Trucking Company.) until being sold in the 1974/75 season after A.G. Fischer and Frank Goldberg bought it from Ringsby.  To avoid being confused with the NBA Houston Rockets, the team changed their name to the Nuggets.

On June 17, 1976, the Nuggets were one of only four teams to transition from the ABA (American Basketball Association) to the NBA joining the San Antonio Spurs, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets and immediately made an impact with a record of 50-30 while averaging 17,150 in ticket sales for the 76/77 season.  The team would make the playoffs but would be bounced out by the Portland Trailblazers in 6 games.

Over the next 30 years, the Nuggets would have 3 players (Alex English 1979-1990, Dan Issel 1975-1985 and David Thompson 1975-1982) and 3 Head Coaches (Larry Brown 1975-79, Alex Hannum 1971-1974 and John McClendon 1969/70) enter the NBA Hall of Fame.  They have retired 5 jerseys; #2 Alex English, #33 David Thompson, #40 Byron Beck, #44 Dan Issel and # 432 for Coach Doug Moe (1980-1990).

The team has amassed numerous awards to include NBA Coach of the Year (Doug Moe – 1988), NBA Most Improved Player (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf – 1993) and NBA Defensive Player of the year twice (Dikembe Mutombo -1995 and Marcus Camby – 2007). 

The Nuggets have made the NBA Playoffs 19 times in 32 years, have won 5 Division Championships (1977, 1978, 1985, 1988 and 2006) and have made it to the Conference Finals twice in 1978 and 1985.  They have never made it into the NBA Finals.



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