Ranking The 10 Worst Teams In Denver Nuggets History
By Eric Meyer
3. 2002-2003 Denver Nuggets:
17-65 — 7th place in the Midwest Division.
This team (coached by Jeff Bzdelik) had very little talent and they were bad enough for the Nuggets to receive the third pick in the 2003 Draft, and get their hands on future star Carmelo Anthony. This team averaged an astonishing 84.2 points per-game, which is an NBA low in the shot-clock era. They were so inept offensively that teams would only guard two or three players and leave the others open, as there was virtually no chance they could score. They were “good” on defense (they finished ninth in the league with 92.4 points allowed per-game), but much of this was due to Bzdelik’s archaic offensive system that ate clock on each and every possession. Veteran Juwan Howard, along with rookies Nene Hilario and James Posey, were the only reasons to take in a Nuggets game during this season. Other players on the roster (that nobody would recognize) included Junior Harrington, Chris Whitney, Devin Brown and Vincent Yarbrough — all would see significant minutes for the Nuggets. At least this team was bad enough to get the Nuggets into the lottery and get the chance to draft Anthony, which would be the move that would wake up a dying franchise.
2002-2003 Statistical Leaders:
Scoring: Howard 18.4 ppg; Rebounding: Howard 7.6 rpg; Assists: Williams 5.1 apg; Blocks: Hilario 0.8 bpg
Next: 1998-1999 Denver Nuggets