The All-Time Nuggets Starting Five

The Denver Nuggets have had some of the most exciting and skilled players throughout their existence in the NBA and ABA. Compiling the all-time Nuggets starting five is a task that requires the ability to analyze a player’s skills combined with their overall contributions to the Nuggets while donning their powder blue, gold, white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple uniforms throughout their tenure with the coolest team in sports history.

Point guard is the deepest position in Nuggets history. Floor generals who have suited up for the Nuggets (or their predecessor, the Denver Rockets) include Larry Brown, Michael Adams, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Mark Jackson, Nick van Exel, and Andre Miller among others. While those are some impressive names for the honorable mention list, two Nuggets have stood out at the position over the rest. Both led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals.

Chauncey Billups has been credited with changing the culture and fortune of the recent Nuggets teams, and certainly deserves consideration as the starting point guard on the all-time Nuggets starting five. While Billups’ statistics and contributions in the last couple years have been extraordinary, I am going to give the first backcourt spot to Lafayette “Fat” Lever. Lever averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.5 steals in six seasons with the Nuggets from 1984 to 1990. He racked up 46 triple-doubles in a Nugget uniform, three of which came in the playoffs. He is one of only six players to accumulate more than 40 triple-doubles in a career, joining Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird. One of the key players in Doug Moe’s run-and-gun offense of the 80’s, Lever brought his stellar all-around game and a winning attitude to the table with stunning consistency—all in order to claim a starting spot on this team I just created!

The shooting guard position was a much easier decision on the all-time Nuggets team ballot given to the executive committee (me). David “Skywalker” Thompson was clearly the greatest shooting guard in Nuggets history. His gravity-defying midair artistry made it okay for guards to play above the rim, and paved the way for athletic two-guards like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Michael Jordan; His Airness honored Skywalker as his presenter and spoke of his influence when he was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Thompson led the Nuggets to an ABA Finals appearance and an NBA Western Conference finals appearance, and was known as a team-first player despite his ability to put up big numbers, including a Nuggets record 73 points in a game. Skywalker could have gone down as one of the greatest players in the history of the game if not for a drug problem and a history of injuries that cut his career short. Nevertheless, fans will always remember his overwhelming first step and his incredible leaping and dunking ability. He was honored as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Honorable mention for the shooting guard position goes to T.R. Dunn, Bryant Stith, and Allen Iverson.

The small forward position is the toughest position to pick, and since there is no definitive answer between two of the NBA’s most prolific scorers, the executive committee has taken the liberty to go with a smaller lineup and having two small forwards on the starting team. Some may say this is cheating. The only thing I have to say to them is that they’re right. And I don’t care.

A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Alex English scored more points than any NBA player in the 1980’s. He is currently 12th on the list for most career points scored in NBA history (Kobe Bryant will pass him soon). English was the preeminent scorer on Doug Moe’s Nuggets in the 80’s. His style was smooth and sleek; he relied on a game of finesse rather than using brute strength or power. He appeared in eight straight All-Star games representing the coolest sports team in history, won a scoring title in 1983, and led the up-tempo Nuggets to nine straight playoff appearances. His humble approach to the game and non-flashy style may have contributed to lack of knowledge about his status as one of the great players in the game, but true NBA aficionados recognize English as one of the great scorers of all time as well as one of the classiest individuals on and off the court. Honorable mentions for the small forward spot include: Kiki Vandeweghe, Bobby Jones, and Carmelo Anthony...

But wait. Carmelo Anthony is one of the top players in the NBA and has reached the playoffs every year of his career, including leading the Nuggets to the Western Finals in 2009. As president, founder, vice president, accountant, and janitor of the executive committee, I have made the not-so-tough decision to include Melo on the team. Besides, it’s not like any power forward deserves to knock Carmelo out of the starting five. After leading Syracuse to a national championship in his freshman year of college, everyone knew Melo was destined to have a great career in the NBA, and teams would have been fools to not pick him as an almost sure thing after LeBron James in the NBA draft. . .um, right. Melo has improved every year of his career, and he has added passing, leadership, and defensive skills to his repertoire. Nuggets fans know we have only scratched the surface of Melo’s talent and potential as an all-around basketball studmuffin (please disregard my use of this word on the count of it being extremely ridiculous). Honorable mention for the power forward spot includes Antonio McDyess, LaPhonso Ellis, Calvin Natt, and Kenyon Martin (sorry Nikoloz Tskitishvili). I also just want to give a shout out to Rodney Rogers, who was my favorite player as a kid and who was recently in a life-altering accident that paralyzed him from the shoulders down. Nuggets fans are keeping Rodney and his family in their hearts as he rehabilitates.

The final spot on the all-time Nuggets starting five goes to another Hall-of-Famer, Dan Issel. “The Horse” got his nickname for his proven durability over the course of an ABA/NBA season and throughout his career. Issel was the second leading scorer in ABA history. While not necessarily the most athletic or defensive-minded player, Issel was a fantastic offensive player who had an accurate shot and was known for his hustle despite not having great speed. In other words, he made the most of what he had. His adept shooting also opened the door for effectiveness with his head fake and lumbering drive to the basket. He also coached the Nuggets to an unbelievable upset over George Karl and the top-seeded Seattle Supersonics in the first round of the 1994 playoffs. Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo gets the honorable mention nod at the center position. So there. I think I need a nap now.

All-Time Nuggets Starting Five:
G Lafayette “Fat” Lever
G David Thompson
F Alex English
F Carmelo Anthony
C Dan Issel