Dan Issel, the forgotten Nuggets legend
By Mathew Huff
When talking about the Nuggets greats, many often forget about Dan Issel.
It is time for fans to stop forgetting about Dan Issel. Issel is about as throwback as one can get. He played in the era when the ABA still existed.
When one thinks of the all the great Nuggets, they are quick to mention guys like Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutumbo, Alex English, Fat Lever, David Thompson, and even Kiki Vandeweghe.
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Often times, Issel is forgotten in that list though and it is time that comes to an end. He was a vital part of the Nuggets franchise and in some ways, the first key star that ever donned a Nuggets jersey.
According to basketball-reference.com, he averaged 26.2 points per game in his Denver career. He also averaged 10.8 rebounds per game throughout his short five year career. That means the man averaged a double double while he was in a Nuggets uniform. Now, that is actually pretty crazy especially when you take the era he was playing in into consideration.
Issel also possessed a player efficiency rating of 21 in his NBA career. Very good numbers in that respect. The man also had an offensive win share at an extremely high 63 for his NBA career. Bear in mind, we are not even taking his ABA career into consideration when looking at these numbers. While his NBA career was very short, he was still a tremendous part of the Denver Nuggets organization.
It is time for the Nuggets faithful to start honoring in the way that he deserves to be honored for all he contributed to the Mile High.