![]() ![]() “I want to say it was (1985), with Fat Lever and Cal Natt and Dan (Issel) and that was a great team. ![]() But he was traded to Portland in June 1984, in a deal that brought the Nuggets two draft picks along with Lever, forward Calvin Natt and center Wayne Cooper, all of whom would prove critical during the next spring’s playoff run. The skinny: The 6-foot-8 former UCLA star posted one of the best single seasons in franchise annals in 1983-84, averaging 29.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. “The second-best team would be (1977), the year we went into the Western Conference semifinals against Portland and got beat by (Bill) Walton.”į, 1980-84 GM, 2001-06 current NBA executive VPĭenver Post file photoKiki Vandeweghe scores over Detroit’s Isiah Thomas on Dec. But when you played our team four, five, six, seven games in a row, and became more familiar with what we were doing, it was easier to beat us. Maybe overachieved during the regular season. “We played such a different style that I think we were able to accomplish a lot in the regular season. Winning championships is what this is about - that’s why you play the games. “That’s what you do this for - you play in the regular season to get in the best position for the playoffs. The skinny: In the final season of a stellar career, the then-36-year-old Issel averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 boards per game, coming off the bench for 68 of 77 appearances in the regular season and 11 of 15 appearances in the playoffs. Rick Stewart, Allsport1985: Dan Issel of the Denver Nuggets lays the ball up during the Nuggets’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California, in 1985. And then I would put this (current) team at No. 2, his team that ended up beating Seattle (the top seed) in the first round. “Then I’m going to say the Dikembe (Mutombo) team (of 1994) was No. “I think what our team did was over a period of a few years, getting into the playoffs (nine straight postseasons from 1981-90) and winning games. Until someone gets further along, and until someone surpasses you, (that’s No. “You can always make excuses for not going further, but the biggest aspect is that you got there. Much like the current squad, coach Doug Moe’s Nuggets had a bench that could go eight or nine deep. Lever finished tops in assists (7.5 per game) and tied for third in points scored (12.8) that season on a Denver squad that was led by forwards Alex English (27.9 ppg) and Calvin Natt (23.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg). The skinny: 52-30 regular-season record Midwest division title reached Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-1. Tim DeFrisco, AllsportGuard Fat Lever of the Denver Nuggets moves the ball during a game at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. RELATED: Fat Lever: Nuggets have to learn NBA Playoffs lessons the hard way It’s not exactly the same, but it reminds me of that excitement.” A couple of people ended up getting hurt, but we were really exciting. It kind of reminds me of when (as Nuggets GM from 2001-06), we drafted Carmelo (Anthony) and brought in Andre Miller and Marcus Camby and Nene - just a really good group. “But it’s going to be exciting to watch they’re a fun team to watch. “Their story, it isn’t finished yet,” VanDeWeghe, currently the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, told The Post. Nor are they at the top of the list for two of Issel’s old running mates, Kiki VanDeWeghe and Fat Lever, both of whom want to see what juice these kids bring to the postseason party before moving them up the charts. I think you’d have to put this current team right with the best teams that the Nuggets have ever had.”īut, at this moment, they’re not his No. I think that the Nuggets right now, if you said what team - not just in the West - but what team in the NBA has the best chance of knocking the Warriors off, I think you’d have to say the Denver Nuggets. Nobody was going to beat the Lakers in the West that year with Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and Magic (Johnson) and (James) Worthy. “I think they’re in a position much like in ’85, when we went to the conference finals. “I think they’re right there,” offered Nuggets icon Dan Issel, who as a player led Denver to an ABA title game in 1976 and was part of two rosters that reached the Western Conference Finals (19) in the decade that followed. Where does this team rank among the best - the very best, the cream - in Denver’s NBA history? And if they aren’t at the top of the heap, then who the heck is? 659 winning percentage this season are the best the franchise has seen in six years, and tied for the second-most successful regular season since the team was annexed by the NBA after the 1975-76 season. Jamal Murray or Fat Lever? Monte Morris or Ty Lawson? The Joker or The Horse? Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu ![]()
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