- 1974
- 1976
- 1999
- 2000
- 2011
-
Becoming the Nuggets
Ringsby sold the team to San Diego businessmen Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer in 1972. In 1974, in anticipation of moving into the NBA, and the new McNichols Arena the franchise held a contest to choose a new team nickname, as “Rockets” was already in use by the Houston Rockets. The winning choice was “Nuggets,” in honor of the original ... -
Joining the NBA
The Nuggets and Nets had actually applied to join the NBA in 1975 but were forced to stay in the ABA by a court order. The Nuggets continued their strong play early on in the NBA, as they won division titles in their first two seasons in the league, and missed a third by a single game. However, neither of ... -
Pepsi Center Opens
Pepsi Center was constructed as part of a large six-year sporting venue upgrade in Denver along with Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, and Sports Authority Field at Mile High (formerly Invesco Field at Mile High), home of the Denver Broncos. The complex was constructed to be readily accessible. The arena is situated at Speer Boulevard, the main thoroughfare ... -
Stan Kroenke Owner of the Nuggets
Kroenke Sports Enterprise also owns Pepsi Center in Denver, home of the Nuggets and Avalanche, and co-owns Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, home of the Rapids. Both venues were built by his development company. In 2004, Kroenke launched his own competitor to FSN Rocky Mountain (now known as Root Sports Rocky Mountain), Altitude, a new regional sports network ... -
Carmelo Anthony Traded
To the New York KnicksOn February 22, 2011, after months of speculation that he wanted to leave the Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony was traded along with Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, and Renaldo Balkman to the New York Knicks in a multi-player deal also involving the Minnesota Timberwolves in which the Nuggets received Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, and Kosta Koufos. ...
History of the Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league’s Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA) but changed its name to Rockets before the first season. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974. After the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets.
The team has had some periods of success, qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the finals. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine consecutive seasons in the 1980s and ten consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2013. However, it has not made an appearance in a championship round since its last year in the ABA. The Nuggets play their home games at Pepsi Center, which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Established
1967
City
Denver
League History
1976 – Present / National Basketball Association
1967 – 1976 / American Basketball Association
Team History
1974 – Present / Denver Nuggets
1967 – 1974 / Denver Rockets
Nickname
Nuggets - Denver's ABA team's original nickname was the Rockets. When the team was preparing to move to the NBA in 1974, they needed a new nickname, as the nickname Rockets was already claimed by the franchise in San Diego/Houston. The winning choice was “Nuggets,” in honor of the original Nuggets team in Denver from 1948 – 1950, is also in respect to the city's mining tradition and the Colorado Gold Rush during the late 1850s and early 1860s, was chosen via a name-the-team contest.
Championship
NBA Championships 0
ABA Championships 0
Arena
2020 - Present / Ball Arena
1999 – 2020 / Pepsi Center
1975 – 1999 / McNichols Sports Arena
1967 – 1975 / Denver Auditorium Arena
Owner
2014 – Present / Ann Walton Kroenke
2000 – 2014 / Stan Kroenke
1997 – 2000 / Liberty Media
1989 – 1997 / Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, and Comsat Video Enterprises
1985 – 1989 / Sidney Shlenker
1978 – 1985 / Red McCombs
1972 – 1978 / Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer
1967 – 1972 / James Trindle and Bill Ringsby
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
2 / Alex English
12 / Lafayette “Fat” Lever
33 / David Thompson
40 / Byron Beck
44 / Dan Issel
55 / Dikembe Mutombo
432 / Doug Moe
*Blue is this team’s history