- 1932
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Nuggets in 1932 Team Formation
The Denver Nuggets trace their roots back to 1932 when the original amateur Nuggets were formed as a member of the Amateur Athletic Union. Led by player/coach “Jumping Jack” McCracken, the Nuggets were one of the most powerful amateur athletic basketball teams in the country, winning the 1939 AAU championship and losing the 1940 championship to the Phillips 66ers of ...
History of the Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets joined the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948 - 1949 season and then joined the National Basketball Association when the NBL was absorbed by the Basketball Association of America to create the NBA for the 1949 - 1950 season. The Nuggets were the first major professional sports franchise in Colorado and the first NBA franchise west of the Mississippi.
Established
1932
City
Denver
League History
1950 - 1951 / National Professional Basketball League
1949 - 1950 / National Basketball Association
1948 - 1949 / National Basketball League/Basketball Association of America
1946 - 1948 / American Basketball League
1932 - 1940 / Missouri Valley League
Team History
1950 - 1951 / Denver Refiners
1946 - 1950 / Denver Nuggets
1945 - 1946 / Denver Ambrose Jellymakers
1941 - 1944 / Denver American Legion
1939 - 1940 / Denver Nuggets
1932 - 1938 / Denver Safeway Pigs
Nickname
Nuggets - The original Nuggets team in Denver, the last year as a charter member of the NBA.
Championship
NPB Championship 0
NBA Championships 0
BAA Championship 0
ABL Championship 0
Amateur Athletic Association 3
1942, 1939, 1937
Arena
1932 - 1951 / Auditorium Arena
Owner
1932 – 1951 / Unknown
Retired Number
*Blue is this team’s history