This Date In History: Welcome To Denver Walter Davis

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: JULY 6

In 1988, Walter Davis was out to prove his critics wrong.

He was 33, his career was tainted with cocaine abuse and he was considering devoting his time at his drug-abuse treatment center. But the Denver Nuggets gave him a second chance.

Davis signed a two-year deal with the Nuggets and stretched to nearly four years as a bench spark for the high-octane Doug Moe team. In a similar role as J.R. Smith, Davis was dangerous off the bench. He averaged 15.6 points his first season, 17.5 his second and 18.7 for Denver before he was traded to Portland. All while starting only 14 games.

He returned to Denver in 1991, but at 37 he finally decided to retire.  Davis finished his career as the 17th leading scorer in the NBA. Davis stuck around Denver and tried broadcasting, before being a scout for the Washington Bullets.

Davis is actually the nephew of former NBA star Hubert Davis and is currently runs a cigar shop in Glenwood Springs.

On the day that Davis signed with the Nuggets, they released longtime point guard T.R. Dunn. Dunn played with the Nuggets from 1980 to 1988 and returned to Denver after spending a season in Phoenix. Dunn retired in 1991 and since then has been an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets. He also coached the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting and was an assistant at University of Alabama.