The Denver Nuggets have had some notable defenders in their history. Now, who was their most underrated?
The Denver Nuggets have a long list of great defenders throughout their history. It ranges from defensive maestros in the back court like T.R. Dunn all the way to the famous, Dikembe Mutombo and his infamous finger way after a big time block.
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However, their is one player who tends to be undervalued when it comes to the defensive end of the floor. A Nuggets legend in fact.
I am talking about Denver’s own triple double king, Fat Lever. Per basketball reference, Lever possessed a career steal average of 2.2 per game. There was even a season where he averaged nearly three steals per game (2.7 to be exact.)
On top of that, he was often tasked with guarding some of the best point guards in NBA history during the 1980’s. Players like Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas.
Lever also had a career steal percentage of 3.2%. Compared to another all time great defender in Scottie Pippen, this is higher than his which stands at 2.9%. Fat Lever also finished his career with an impressive defensive win share total of 31.7.
Lever was quick enough to get into the passing lanes to disrupt offenses and it shows in these key statistical categories. Lever’s career defensive rating of 105 and also had a total of defensive box plus/minus of 2.8 one season. He also had a defensive box plus/minus of 2 or above in three other seasons throughout his career.
Even when Lever was no longer a part of the Denver Nuggets, he always had his defense to fall back on. In his two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Lever averaged a defensive win share of 4.9.
It is clear that Fat Lever is the Denver Nuggets’ most underrated defender of all time. It is time for the Nuggets faithful and the rest of the NBA to realize how talented Lever was during his prime.