Denver Nuggets in History

Events in Sport

  • 1975-10-25 Denver Nuggets 1st game at McNichols Sports Arena beat St Louis Spirits
  • 1976-05-13 9th & final ABA championship: NY Nets beat Denver Nuggets, 4 games to 2
  • 1976-06-17 ABA (Nets, Pacers, Nuggets & Spurs) merges into NBA
  • 1979-02-04 29th NBA All-Star Game, Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mi: West beats East, 134-129; MVP: David Thompson, Denver Nuggets, SG
  • 1982-02-15 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), begins streak of 63 consecutive free throw
  • 1982-02-27 Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), hits on 63rd consecutive free throw
  • 1983-04-26 San Antonio spurs beat Denver Nuggets, 152-133 in NBA playoff game
  • 1983-11-30 Denver Nuggets coach Doug Moe, hoplessly behind, advise team to let Blazers break their scoring record
  • 1984-01-11 Denver Nuggets 163, San Antonio Spurs 155-highest-scoring NBA game
  • 1988-01-28 Denver Nuggets point guard Michael Adams takes record streak to 79 consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal in 117-102 loss against Indiana at Market Square Arena; streak ends next game
  • 1989-01-11 Denver Nuggets' rookie Jerome Lane misses 7 free throws in a game against Milwaukee, one missed by 2 feet
  • 1989-10-21 Betram Lee & Peter Bynoe purchase the Denver Nuggets for $65m - 1st African American owners of a major sports team,
  • 1989-10-22 Denver Nuggets beat Jugoplastika Split 135-129 in 3rd McDonald Open
  • 1990-11-02 Golden State Warriors register a 162-158 win over the Denver Nuggets at McNichols Arena, with the 320 total points setting an NBA record for most points scored by 2 teams in a non-overtime game
  • 1991-01-31 Denver Nuggets Michael Adams becomes shortest NBAer to get a triple-double
  • 1991-12-12 NJ Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Nuggets 121-81
  • 1994-05-07 Denver Nuggets become NBA's 1st #8 seed to beat a #1 seed (Seattle)

Stockton Surpasses Johnson

1995-02-01 Utah Jazz guard John Stockton passes Magic Johnson's all-time NBA assists mark of 9,221, in a 129-98 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Delta Centre in Salt Lake City

  • 1998-01-23 Denver Nuggets tie the NBA single-season record of 23 consecutive losses set by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995-96; streak ends with a 99-81 win the next day against the LA Clippers
  • 2000-07-06 Real estate developer Stan Kroenke announces the acquisition of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and the Pepsi Centre for $450m from the Ascent Entertainment Group
  • 2018-02-15 Denver's Serbian center Nikola Jokić records fastest triple double in NBA history (14 minutes, 33 seconds) in the Nuggets' 134-123 win at Milwaukee; Jokić finishes with 30 points, 17 assists, 15 rebounds
  • 2019-01-16 Golden State Warriors break 2 franchise records in 142-111 win over Denver Nuggets; in 1st quarter, record 10 three-point field goals on way to franchise best 51 points in the period
  • 2019-04-13 Gregg Popovich surpasses Lenny Wilkens to became the all-time winningest coach in NBA history with his 1,413th win as San Antonio Spurs beat Denver Nuggets, 101-96 in Western Conference Playoffs
  • 2023-06-12 NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets beat Miami Heat 94-89 to win the franchise's first C'ship; clinch series 4-1; MVP: Denver C Nikola Jokić
  • 2024-03-02 LeBron James becomes first player in NBA history to score 40,000 regular-season points as his LA Lakers slip to a 124-114 defeat to Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles

Birthdays in Sport

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

1842-06-24 American writer and satirist (Devil's Dictionary, Nuggets & Dust), born in Meigs County, Ohio

  • 1936-12-14 Carl Scheer, American basketball executive (general manager Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Charlotte Hornets; inventor NBA Slam Dunk Contest), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
  • 1948-10-25 Dan Issel, American NBA coach and player (27,482 points, Denver Nuggets), born in Batavia, Illinois
  • 1954-07-13 David Thompson, American NBA guard, 1975-84, 4X All-Star (Denver Nuggets, Seattle Supersonics), born in Shelby, North Carolina
  • 1954-09-09 Walter Davis, American basketball shooting guard (6 x NBA All-Star; NBA Rookie of the Year 1978; Olympic gold 1976; Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets), born in Pineville, North Carolina (d. 2023)
  • 1960-08-06 Dale Ellis, American NBA basketball guard/forward, 1983-2000 (Seattle Supersonics, Denver Nuggets, and 5 other teams), born in Marietta, Georgia
  • 1962-11-13 Blair Rasmussen, American NBA basketball center; 1985-93 (Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks), born in Auburn, Washington
  • 1963-11-28 Johnny Newman, NBA guard/forward (Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks)
  • 1966-06-25 Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American NBA center (Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets), born in Leopoldville, Congo
  • 1966-11-27 Dean Garrett, NBA center (Denver Nuggets)
  • 1967-03-27 Tom Hammonds, American NBA forward (Minn Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets), born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
  • 1969-03-09 Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, NBA guard (Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets), born in Gulfport, Mississippi
  • 1969-08-03 Doug Overton, American NBA guard (Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1970-01-16 Don MacLean, American NBA forward (NJ Nets, Denver Nuggets), born in Palo Alto, California
  • 1970-05-05 LaPhonso Ellis, American NBA forward (Denver Nuggets), born in East St. Louis, Illinois
  • 1970-06-22 Rastko Cvetkovic, NBA center (Denver Nuggets)
  • 1970-10-07 Harold Ellis, English NBA forward (Denver Nuggets), born in London
  • 1970-12-10 Bryant Stith, American NBA guard (Denver Nuggets), born in Emporia, Virginia
  • 1971-09-06 Anthony Goldwire, American NBA guard (Denver Nuggets), born in West Palm Beach, Florida
  • 1971-09-15 Michael Malone, American basketball head coach (Denver Nuggets 2015-21; Sacramento Kings 2013-14; NBA All-Star Game 2019), born in Queens, New York
  • 1972-07-17 Eric Williams, American NBA forward (Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics), born in Newark, New Jersey
  • 1973-01-20 Jalen Rose, American NBA guard (Denver Nuggets), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • 1973-03-13 Bobby Jackson, American NBA guard (Denver Nuggets), born in Salisbury, North Carolina
  • 1974-03-23 Eric Washington, NBA guard (Denver Nuggets)
  • 1974-09-07 Antonio McDyess, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 2001; Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons), born in Quitman, Mississippi
  • 1974-09-24 Kiwane Garris, American NBA guard (Denver Nuggets), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1976-02-11 Tony Battie, American NBA forward (Denver Nuggets), born in Dallas, Texas
  • 1976-03-27 Danny Fortson, American NBA forward (Denver Nuggets), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1985-04-04 Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball guard (Olympic silver 2008, 12; bronze 2016; FIBA World Cup gold 2006, 19; Portland TB's, Denver Nuggets; Real Madrid), born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain
  • 1988-07-21 DeAndre Jordan, American NBA player (Denver Nuggets), born in Houston, Texas
  • 1988-08-08 Danilo Gallinari, Italian NBA basketball player (NY Knicks, Denver Nuggets), born in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy
  • 1995-02-19 Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball center (NBA C'ship 2023 [MVP]; NBA MVP 2001, 02; NBA All-Star 2019-22; fastest NBA triple-double 14:33s 2018; Denver Nuggets), born in Sombor, Serbia
  • 1995-09-16 Aaron Gordon, American NBA player (Denver Nuggets), born in San Jose, California

Deaths in Sport

  • 2019-12-13 Carl Scheer, American basketball executive (general manager Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Charlotte Hornets; inventor NBA Slam Dunk Contest), dies from complications of dementia at 82
  • 2023-11-02 Walter Davis, American basketball shooting guard (6 x NBA All-Star; NBA Rookie of the Year 1978; Olympic gold 1976; Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets), dies at 69