Top 10 The Best Players of Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets is a 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 an expansion franchise of the American Basketball Association (ABA), but changed its name to Rockets before the first season. In 1974, the franchise relocated to Northern Colorado and became the Buffalo Braves, then became the San Diego Clippers in 1978. In 1984, the team was renamed again, this time to Nuggets.

The top ten players of Denver Nuggets are:

1. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the Syracuse Orange, winning a national championship before declaring for the NBA draft. Anthony was selected as the third overall pick by the Nuggets in the 2003 NBA draft. He spent his first seven seasons with Denver before he was traded to the New York Knicks in a deal that also involved Minnesota Timberwolves.

2. Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo is a Congolese-American retired professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside of basketball, he has become known for his humanitarian work. On January 10, 2007, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second most prolific shot blocker in NBA history, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. At the conclusion of the 2009–10 season, Mutombo announced his retirement from professional basketball; he holds NBA records for career blocked shots (3,289) and defensive rebounds (9,815).

3. Alex English

Alex English is an American retired professional basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 1991. He played college basketball at South Carolina before being drafted 23rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. He was then traded to the Indiana Pacers for George McGinnis. After one season with the Pacers, he was traded to the Nuggets, with whom he spent the next 10 seasons. English was one of the NBA’s premier scoring small forwards of his era, averaging at least 21 points per game in each of his first 12 seasons with Denver and finishing as high as third in the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting in 1982–83. He retired as the Nuggets’ all-time leader in several statistical categories and holds several NBA records for shooting efficiency.

4. Dan Issel

Dan Issel is an American former professional basketball player and coach who was a Hall of Fame center in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played college basketball at Kentucky before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1970. After two seasons with Detroit, he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, but was soon after sold to the Nuggets, with whom he spent the remainder of his playing career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and had his jersey (#44) retired by the Nuggets in 2005.

5. David Thompson

David Maurice Thompson is an American former professional basketball player. He played for both the Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American at North Carolina State University before being drafted number one overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1975 NBA draft, but was immediately traded to Denver. In his rookie season, he was part of the Nuggets team that went to the ABA Finals, where they lost to the New York Nets. The following season, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. His career was cut short by drug abuse; he played his final season in 1981–82 and was out of the league for good by 1984. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

6. Fat Lever

Fatima Abdullahi “Fat” Lever (born May 18, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard and point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1983 to 1997. He played college basketball for Arizona State University before being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 1982 NBA draft. He was then traded to the Nuggets, with whom he spent most of his career. He was an All-Star in 1990 and led the league in steals in 1992–93. His number is retired by the Nuggets.

7. Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He has played for several teams in his career, most notably the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Nuggets in the 2003 NBA draft, and he spent the first 7½ seasons of his career with them before being traded to the Knicks in 2011. While playing for Denver, he led the team to the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010, winning two division titles along the way. In 2009, he helped lead the Nuggets to their first Conference Finals appearance since 1985. He was named an All-Star for the first time in 2010, and he won an Olympic gold medal as a member of Team USA in 2012.

8. Alex English

AlexanderEnglish is an American former professional basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 1991. He played college basketball at South Carolina before being drafted 23rd overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. He was then traded to the Indiana Pacers for George McGinnis. After one season with the Pacers, he was traded to the Nuggets, with whom he spent the next 10 seasons. English was one of the NBA’s premier scoring small forwards of his era, averaging more than 20 points per game for eight consecutive seasons from 1979 to 1986. He was an All-Star five times, and he won the NBA scoring title in 1982–83 with an average of 28.4 points per game. He is the Nuggets’ all-time leading scorer, and his number (#2) is retired by the team.

9. Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966), better known as Dikembe Mutombo, is a Congolese American retired professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Kinshasa, he was selected fourth overall in the 1991 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets, for whom he played until 1996. He then played for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls. He is commonly referred to as one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time. On January 10, 2007, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second most prolific shot blocker in NBA history. He averaged a double-double for five straight seasons (1991–1996), and blocked at least three shots in every game he ever played.

10. Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born in Denver, Colorado, and played college basketball at the University of Colorado. He was selected third overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1997 NBA draft and was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Kenny Anderson, Zan Tabak, and Popeye Jones on his rookie year. Billups was named co-Rookie of the Year in his first season with Toronto. After being traded to the Nuggets in 1998, he helped lead them to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2003 to 2010, winning two division titles along the way. He was traded to the Pistons for Clifford Robinson and Jon Barry in 2002, and he won an NBA championship with Detroit in 2004. He was voted MVP of that year’s Finals.