Denver Nuggets: 15 best draft picks of all-time
By John Buhler
The Denver Nuggets were an even-present threat in the Western Conference Playoffs in the late 1980s. One reason for this was the great play of center Blair Rasmussen. Denver used its No. 15 overall pick on the big man out of Oregon in the 1985 NBA Draft. He had made three straight All-Pac-10 first-teams in his last three years with the Oregon Ducks.
Rasmussen would play in the NBA for eight seasons. His first six would be with the team that drafted him in Denver. Overall, Rasmussen played in 429 games for the Nuggets over six seasons, starting in 215 of them. Rasmussen would play in the Western Conference Playoffs in all of his first five seasons with the Nuggets.
In summer 1991, Rasmussen would be traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal with involving the Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks. Rasmussen would play his final two NBA seasons in Atlanta before retiring after the 1992-93 NBA season at age 30.
During his time with the Nuggets, Rasmussen would average over 10.0 points per game three times. Overall, he would average 10.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in 21.3 minutes per contest while playing for Denver. For a mid-first-round pick, Rasmussen was not to shabby of a pro for the Nuggets.