Season stories, legends, venues and owners from Nuggets history.
Regular-season per-game stats, Denver games only. To lead a category a player had to appear in at least half of the team's games; players level at one decimal are listed together. The franchise played in the ABA as the Denver Rockets (1967-74) and Nuggets (1974-76), then joined the NBA. Steals and blocks were not recorded before 1973-74. Seasons are labeled by the year they ended. Sources: 2025-26 Denver Nuggets Media Guide (records, coaches), Basketball-Reference (player stats).
Beat the Miami Heat 4-1. Game 5, June 12, 2023: won 94-89 at Ball Arena.
“We are not in it for ourselves, we are in it for the guy next to us. And that's why this (means) even more.”
Jokić closed the series with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 5.
Jokić scored 53 in a Game 4 loss, then Denver led by 18 after one quarter and won Game 6 in Phoenix by 25.
Denver came back from 15 down at halftime of Game 4 to finish the franchise's first playoff sweep and reach its first Finals.
In a grinding Game 5, Bruce Brown's putback put Denver ahead late and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's free throws helped close it out.
“It's just an amazing feeling. Blood, sweat and tears to get back to this point.”
Scores are from Denver's side. Sources: Basketball-Reference, NBA.com, AP and Wikipedia; each quote links to where it was published.
Documentary · NBA
Dr. J looks back on the 1976 contest in Denver, won with his free-throw-line dunk over David Thompson.
Game · NBA
The highest-scoring game in NBA history, at McNichols Arena.
Game · NBA Africa
Denver becomes the first 8 seed to beat a 1 seed, ending with Mutombo on the floor hugging the ball.
Play · NBA
Carmelo Anthony's game-sealing three during the 2009 run to the Western Conference Finals.
Documentary · NBA
Nikola Jokić's journey from a second-round pick to MVP and NBA champion.
Game · NBA on ESPN
Jamal Murray's 50-point night starts Denver's comeback from 3-1 down against Utah.
Game · NBA
Denver finishes its second 3-1 comeback of the same postseason.
Game · NBA
The wild final minutes of Game 4 send Denver to its first NBA Finals.
Game · NBA
Denver beats Miami at Ball Arena for the franchise's first NBA title.
Documentary · NBA
The NBA's behind-the-scenes documentary on the 2023 championship run.
Videos are hosted on YouTube by the channels shown and play here through YouTube's player. If a channel removes a video, it will stop playing.
F · 1967–77
The first player the Denver Rockets ever signed and the first number the club retired. Two-time ABA All-Star.
F · 1969–70
As a 20-year-old rookie, averaged 30.0 points and 19.5 rebounds and won ABA MVP and Rookie of the Year.
G · 1970–76, 1978
Five-time ABA All-Star who led the team in scoring four straight seasons (1971-75).
F · 1974–78
Elite defender who made the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 1977 and 1978.
C · 1975–85
"The Horse" missed almost no games and retired as the Nuggets' leader in points and rebounds. Later coached the team.
G · 1975–82
"Skywalker" was ABA Rookie of the Year and scored 73 points in a 1978 game, a team record.
G · 1978–80
Led the team with 5.4 assists per game in 1978-79.
F · 1979–90
Won the 1983 scoring title, scored more points than anyone in the NBA during the 1980s, and left as the Nuggets' career scoring leader.
G · 1984–90
Led the NBA in triple-doubles in 1986-87 and is the franchise leader in steals.
G · 1988–92
Added scoring off the bench in the late Doug Moe years.
C · 1991–96
The 1995 Defensive Player of the Year. His finger wag and the 1994 upset of top-seeded Seattle are Nuggets history.
G · 1996–97
Played his final NBA season in Denver.
G · 2001–02
Spent part of his final seasons in Denver.
F · 2003–11
The No. 3 pick who made the Nuggets a playoff team again. Averaged 28.9 points in 2006-07 and led the 2009 run to the conference finals.
G · 2006–08
Averaged 26.4 points in 2007-08 alongside Anthony.
G · 1999–2000, 2008–11
A Denver native who came home in 2008 and steered the team to the 2009 Western Conference Finals.
F · 2011–17
Led the team in scoring in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
C · 2015–present
A second-round pick who became a three-time MVP (2021, 2022, 2024) and 2023 Finals MVP. Averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 2025-26.
G · 2016–present
Co-star of the 2023 title run. Set the franchise record for 3-pointers in a season in 2025-26.
F · 2021–present
Starting forward and defensive stopper on the 2023 championship team.
Placed by each player's first season with the franchise (the calendar year that season began). Hall of Famers with short Denver stints are shown as smaller cards. Sources: 2025-26 Denver Nuggets Media Guide (retired numbers, Hall of Fame and award lists) and the Season Stories data.
Seasons are labeled by the year they ended; ABA years (1968-76) included. Steals and blocks were not tracked before 1973-74. 1971 and 1974 playoff trips were one-game division tiebreakers. ★ championship season
The ABA franchise started as the Denver Larks, after the state bird. Hours before a bond deadline, trucking magnate Bill Ringsby took control and renamed the team the Rockets, after his Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Expecting to join the NBA, which already had the Houston Rockets, Denver held a name-the-team contest in 1974. The winner, 'Nuggets,' revived the name of Denver's 1949-50 NBA team and nodded to the city's mining roots.
Source: kdvr.com
At the last ABA All-Star Game, held at McNichols Arena in January 1976, halftime featured the first slam dunk contest ever. Julius Erving won with a dunk from the free-throw line, beating Denver's David Thompson.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
On the season's last day, David Thompson scored 73 points, including 32 in the first quarter, to grab the scoring lead. Hours later George Gervin scored 63 and won the title by the smallest margin ever: 27.22 to 27.15 points per game.
Source: nba.com
Owner Carl Scheer held a fan contest to redesign the logo, and the winner was a blocky Denver skyline in front of the mountains with a rainbow behind it. The team wore it until 1993, and it keeps coming back as a throwback.
Source: denverite.com
Doug Moe's 1981-82 Nuggets averaged an NBA-record 126.5 points a game and scored at least 100 in every game. They also allowed at least 100 in every game.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
On Dec. 13, 1983, Detroit beat Denver 186-184 in triple overtime at McNichols Arena. Four players topped 40, led by Kiki Vandeweghe's 51, and the teams took just four three-pointers between them.
Source: nba.com
Paul Westhead's all-out 1990-91 Nuggets gave up an NBA-record 130.8 points per game. On Nov. 10, 1990, Phoenix scored 107 in the first half against them, still the only 100-point half in NBA history.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
When Denver took Nikola Jokić 41st overall in 2014, ESPN was airing a Taco Bell ad, so his name only crawled across the bottom of the screen. He went on to win three MVPs and says he's never eaten Taco Bell.
Source: si.com
Minutes after Denver's first NBA title, Jokić was told the parade was Thursday and replied that he needed to go home. He was worried about making his family's horse races in Serbia, and he got there in time.
Source: cbssports.com
Each story was checked against at least one published source, linked on its card. Where a story is disputed, the card says so.
Opened Oct. 1, 1999. The Nuggets won their first NBA championship here in Game 5 of the 2023 Finals on June 12, 2023. It also hosted the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.
The Nuggets moved in for the ABA's final season and stayed 24 years. It hosted the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, home of the first slam dunk contest, and the 1984 NBA All-Star Game.
The franchise's first home, as the ABA's Denver Rockets and then the Nuggets. The original auditorium opened in 1908 for that year's Democratic National Convention.
Sources: 2025-26 Denver Nuggets Media Guide (arenas by season, capacities); Denver Auditorium Arena and McNichols details from the buildings' histories.
Owner; Josh Kroenke has been team president and governor since 2010
Kroenke's purchase kept the team in Denver after two failed sales. Under Josh Kroenke, the Nuggets built patiently around Nikola Jokić and won their first NBA championship in 2023.
“One thing I know about Stan is that when he sets his mind to doing something, and when he thinks he's right, he's going to fight for that.”
“It's like having children: You love them all.”
Owner
After COMSAT took full ownership in 1992, Charlie Lyons ran its sports teams. The Nuggets moved under Ascent Entertainment with the new Avalanche in 1995, and Ascent built the Pepsi Center before selling to Kroenke.
COMSAT held control; Lee and Bynoe were partners who ran the team
Bertram Lee and Peter Bynoe were described as the first Black owners of a major league team, but they could only close the deal after COMSAT took the controlling stake. Lee left around 1991 and COMSAT bought out Bynoe in 1992.
“We will not move the franchise.”
Owner
The Houston businessman bought the team from Red McCombs and kept GM Vince Boryla and coach Doug Moe. He put money into upgrading McNichols Arena, and by 1988 he was looking for a buyer.
“We'll put out the money and hopefully we'll be fortunate enough to have a superior product.”
Owner
The San Antonio car dealer sold his share of the Spurs to buy the struggling Nuggets. The team reached the 1985 Western Conference Finals, and he sold soon after.
Sources disagree on the year he bought the team; 1982 is the most widely reported.
Local ownership group
A Denver group that included president and GM Carl Scheer bought the club, moved it into McNichols Arena and took it into the NBA in the 1976 merger.
Owners
The San Diego businessmen bought the Rockets from the Ringsbys. Under them the team became the Nuggets in 1974 and hired Larry Brown as coach.
Owners (Denver Rockets, ABA)
The trucking family bought control before the first ABA season and renamed the team the Rockets, after their Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines.
Records are regular-season results for the seasons credited to each owner (whoever owned the team for most of a season gets it). Sources: team histories, AP/UPI, Denver Post, SABR, Sports-Reference and Wikipedia; each quote links to where it was published.