A Basic History of the Denver Nuggets Basketball Team

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association. The Nuggets play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the NBA.

The Denver Nuggets are currently owned by E. Stanley Kroenke and are coached by George Karl. The official colors of the Nuggets are powder blue, gold, and blue.

The franchise was founded in 1967 as the Denver Rockets. In 1974, the team changed its name from the Rockets to the Nuggets.

The team played its home games in the Denver Arena from 1967-1975. From 1975-1999, the Denver Nuggets played their home games in the McNichols Sports Arena. In 1999, the team moved to its current location, the Pepsi Center.

In the history of the Denver franchise, the team has won a total of eight division titles, three in the ABA and five in the NBA. The ABA division titles came in 1970, 1975, and 1976. The NBA division titles came in 1977, 1978, 1985, 1988, and 2006. The only conference title for the franchise came in 1976, when they were still a part of the ABA. The franchise has never won a championship.

Three former players for Denver are currently in the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Those three players are Alex English, Dan Issel, and David Thompson.

Three former Denver coaches are also in the Hall of Fame. Those three coaches are Larry Brown, Alex Hannum, and John McLendon.

Some other former fan favorites in Denver are Lafayette Lever, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Antonio McDyess, Dikembe Mutumbo, and Marvin Webster.

The Nuggets have retired a total of five numbers. Four players' numbers have been retired. Those four players are Alex English - 2, David Thompson - 33, Byron Beck - 40, and Dan Issel - 44. The number 432 is retired in honor of the amount of games won by former coach Doug Moe. Moe was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 1988.

The current Denver Nuggets team is led by two of the biggest names in professional basketball. The team is captained by small forward Carmelo Anthony. The team also made a trade during the season to bring in star guard Allen Iverson. The duo ran the Nuggets offense, having several games where each scored at least thirty points. The current Denver Nuggets team isn't exactly known for being a very good defensive team, but center Marcus Camby played stellar defense throughout this past season, earning him the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.