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Denver Nuggets Basketball Information
Please Click here for The OFFICIAL
DENVER NUGGETS WEBSITE
 It
wasn't always rooting for the Nuggets in this territory. Their way was
paved by a group known as the Rockets. The pro game resurfaced 18 years
after a first go in the Mile High City for the 1967-68 season, this time
in the form of the ABA's Denver Rockets. The team played its first game
on October 15, 1967, and defeated the Anaheim Amigos, 110-105. Under Coach
Bob Bass, Denver went 45-33 in its inaugural season before being eliminated
by the New Orleans Buccaneers in the first round of the 1968 ABA Playoffs.
The team enjoyed mild success for a few years and then found itself in
last place at the end of the 1973-74 and missed the playoffs. The following
year they came back and won the ABA finals. The following couple years
the team prospered finishing in the postseason.
While Denver was flourishing, most ABA franchises were floundering. In
June 1976 the league went out of business, and the Nuggets, Nets, San
Antonio Spurs, and Indiana Pacers became part of the NBA after paying
$3.2-million entry fees. So the born again team in 1976 the became the
Denver Nuggets and the region's professional basketball team. They did
well in their debut in the National Basketball Association.
Although most of the new teams adjusted slowly to the NBA, Denver thrived
right from the start. The Nuggets won their first eight games of the 1976-77
campaign, the all-time franchise record for a season-starting winning
streak. They lost little momentum, posting a 23-10 mark by the new year
and keeping the pressure on for most of the campaign. Denver finished
with a 50-32 record, won the Midwest Division, and tied the Philadelphia
76ers for the second-best record in the league behind the Los Angeles
Lakers' 53-29 mark. But the Nuggets faltered in the playoffs and were
eliminated by the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, the eventual
NBA champions.
 The
following years have been good to the Denver Nuggets and they continue
to play basketball in the Mile High City. The city built a new facility
for them to play in the 1990's. The Pepsi Center in a brand new building
that has state of the art lighting, sound, and facilities for the athletes
and seats more than McNichols Arena used to.
Please Click here for The OFFICIAL
DENVER NUGGETS WEBSITE
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