History of the Denver Nuggets

80s - Offensive Dominance

The Nuggets joined the NBA in 1977, one year after making the ABA finals. Their two leading scorers from that team – Dan Issel and David Thompson – continued their dominance in the NBA. In the 1982 season, the Nuggets had the best offensive rating and worst defensive rating in the league. The impressive offense performance continued with throughout the decade with their best season ending in the Western Conference Finals in 1985.

90s - Lack of Superstars

Throughout the 90s, the Nuggets struggled to find a superstar to build around. The closest they got was drafting Dikembe Mutombo in 1992 who quickly established himself as one of the shot blockers. In the 1994 playoffs he led the 8th seeded Nuggets in a series win over the Seattle Supersonics.

00s - Underperforming

They drafted their superstar in Carmelo Anthony in the early 2000s. They surrounded him with great defending role players in Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin. After acquiring Allen Iverson they had no more excuses but lost in the first round of the playoffs in back to back years. After trading Iverson in the 2009 season, they made the Western Conference Finals but fell short to Kobe’s Lakers.

10s - A Restart

After trading Carmelo to the Knicks, the Nuggets had to rebuild which led to drafting second rounder Nikola Jokic. After hitting on him and Jamal Murray they had a great foundation to build around. Their young core made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2020 losing to the eventual champions – the Los Angeles Lakers.