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The Denver Nuggets have never won an NBA title, until tonight.
As the basketball world knows, the Nuggets will try to win their first world championship tonight at home against the Miami Heat, leading the NBA Finals 3 games to 1. Before becoming the Nuggets, the old Denver Rockets nearly won two titles in the old American Basketball Association or the ABA.
In 1974, prior to moving to the NBA, and the new McNichols Arena, the franchise held a contest to choose a new nickname, as “Rockets” was already in use by the NBA’s Houston team. The winning choice was in honor of the original Denver Nuggets from 1948 to 1950, short-lived as a charter member of the NBA. The ABA Nuggets played with the first 3-point line in pro basketball and used the infamous red-white-and-blue ball.
There was a decided UNC and ACC flavor to those early Denver teams.
With the drafting and signing of future Hall of Fame player David Thompson out of NC State and Marvin “Human Eraser” Webster, the Nuggets were coached by former Carolina star and Dean Smith assistant Larry Brown, who was aided by fellow Tar Heel Doug Moe.
They acquired Kentucky all-American Dan Issel and Carolina great Bobby Jones and had their best seasons in team history in their first two as the Nuggets. Playing in the old Denver Auditorium for the last year, the 1974–75 team went 65-16, including a 40–2 record at home. However, a quick playoff exit followed.
In 1975–76, playing at their new arena, the Nuggets edged the reigning champion Kentucky Colonels four games to three to make the ABA Finals for the first time. They lost to the New York Nets and Julius “Dr. J” Erving. The ABA-NBA merger took place after the 1975–76 season with the Nuggets, Nets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs joining the league.
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, and missed a third by a single game.
In 1979, Brown left the team, helping usher in a brief decline in their performance. It ended in 1981, when they hired Moe as head coach. Since then, the Nuggets have won 10 divisional titles but have yet to win it all.
Denver has one of the great players in the game, 6-10 center Nikola Jokic, who is must-see TV. He plays like a bigger version of Magic Johnson with his deft passing but is a better rebounder and outside shooter than Magic.
By midnight, the Joker and Nuggets will own their long-awaited first NBA title.
Featured image via Associated Press/Wilfredo Lee
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