The 25 Best Players in Nuggets’ History: Numbers 5-1

5. Fat Lever

Career with the Nuggets: 474 games, 35.6 minutes, 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.3 blocks .454% FG, .780% FT

Career Accolades: 2x NBA All-Star, All-NBA Second Team (1987), NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1988)

Lafayette “Fat” Lever might be one of those players who “played in the wrong era.” Lever would have been a seamless fit in a league today that is fixated with statistics, especially triple-doubles.

Lever was traded to the Nuggets along with Calvin Natt and Wayne Cooper in 1984 and spent six seasons in Denver. There was positional overlap with Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English, so the Nuggets traded their leading scorer for a 6-foot-3 point guard who started just 22 games for the Portland Trailblazers the season prior.

Lever’s first season in Denver was a success, as he started all 82 games and averaged 12.8 points, 7.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds. The Nuggets went from a 38-win team to a 52-win team and made it to the Western Conference Finals that year.

Lever’s breakout year came during the 1986-87 season. Lever averaged 18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.0 assists, the only player that season to average 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and led the NBA in triple-doubles with 16.

With guards Magic Johnson, Sleepy Floyd, Alvin Robertson, Rolando Blackman and Walter Davis on the Western Conference All-Star team, Lever missed out on the All-Star Game but was named to the All-NBA Second Team at the end of the season.

Lever’s first All-Star appearance came the following season, even though his averages were nearly identical to the season before. Lever was also named to the All-Defensive Second Team that year after averaging the 4th most steals in the league (2.7).

In Lever’s final season with the Nuggets, he averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.5 assists and made his 2nd and final All-Star Game.

Lever had four 20-rebound games with the Nuggets, the most by any point guard in NBA history, and a feat that has only been achieved by four other guards in NBA history. Lever ranks 9th all-time in the NBA for triple-doubles, one spot ahead of fellow Denver Nugget Nikola Jokić, and will forever be one of the most underappreciated point guards in NBA history.

4. Dan Issel

Career with the Nuggets: 802 games, 31.4 minutes, 20.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks .507% FG, .799% FT

Career Accolades: 1x NBA All-Star (1977), 1x ABA All-Star (1976), 1x All-ABA Second Team (1976)

After becoming one of the best players in the ABA with the Kentucky Colonels, Dan Issel found his way to the Denver Nuggets and spent the rest of his career there.

In Issel’s first season with the Nuggets, they finished 60-24 and Issel averaged 23.0 points and 11.0 rebounds on a roster with four other All-Stars. Issel was also named to the All-ABA Second Team that season.

The Nuggets moved to the NBA the following season and finished 50-32, 2nd in the Western Conference. Issel once again made the All-Star Game, averaging 22.3 points and 8.8 rebounds a night.

Issel never made another All-Star game after that season, but had five more seasons with the Nuggets where he averaged at least 20 points a game.

Issel retired after the 1984-85 season and ranks 2nd all-time in games, minutes and points for the Nuggets, 1st in rebounds, 8th in assists, 4th in steals, and has the 3rd highest PER of any Nugget in history. Issel also spent time coaching the Nuggets during the early 90s and early 2000s and was the president and general manager for Denver from 1998-2001.

3. Carmelo Anthony

Career with the Nuggets: 564 games, 24.9 points, 6.4 rebounds 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.5 blocks .458% FG, .309% 3PT, .804% FT

Career Accolades: 4x NBA All-Star, 1x All-NBA Second Team, 3x All-NBA Third Team, NBA All-Rookie First Team

In one of the most heralded NBA drafts of all-time, Carmelo Anthony was taken 3rd overall by the Nuggets during the 2003 NBA Draft.

Anthony started all 82 games for the Nuggets during his rookie season and Denver went from a 17-win team to a 43-win team overnight. Anthony also became the first rookie since David Robinson to lead a playoff team in scoring.

At the time, Anthony set multiple NBA scoring records during his rookie season. He became the second youngest player to score 30 points in a game, became the third-youngest player to reach 1,000 points, and his 41-point performance against the Seattle SuperSonics remains the highest total by a Denver Nugget in their rookie season.

At the end of the season, Anthony became the fourth rookie ever to win all six Rookie of the Month awards in a season, but finished second in the Rookie of the Year award voting to LeBron James.

Melo’s first All-Star appearance came during the 2006-07 season when he averaged 28.9 points (2nd in the league), 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Anthony made the All-NBA Third Team three times while he was in Denver and the All-NBA Second Team in 2010 when he averaged 28.2 points (3rd in the league), 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists for a 53-29 Nuggets squad. Melo’s 30.7 points per game during the 2010 playoffs is also the highest average in Nuggets’ history.

Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks during the 2010-11 season and made the All-Star Game every season he was in New York. Anthony ranks 6th all-time in games for the Nuggets, 3rd in minutes, 3rd in points, 7th in steals and has the highest usage percentage (31.2) of any Denver Nugget ever.

2. David Thompson

Career with the Nuggets: 498 games, 24.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.9 blocks .507% FG, .779% FT

Career Accolades: 3x NBA All-Star, NBA All-Star Game MVP (1979), 2x All-NBA First Team, 1x ABA All-Star, ABA All-Star Game MVP (1976), All-ABA Second Team, ABA Rookie of the Year, ABA All-Rookie First Team, ABA All-Time Team

David Thompson was drafted first overall twice, yes twice, in 1975 in both the ABA and NBA Drafts. Thompson eventually signed with the Denver Nuggets and had a stellar rookie season.

Thompson averaged 26.0 points (3rd in the league), 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks and won the ABA Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. Thompson also made the All-ABA Second Team that season and was one of Denver’s five All-Stars that year.

Two seasons later, in Denver’s last game of the 1977-78 season, Thompson poured in 73 points against the Detroit Pistons, the highest mark in Nuggets’ history and the 4th highest total in NBA history.

Thompson made the All-Star Game in each of his first four seasons with the Nuggets and was the MVP of the All-Star Game in 1979.

Thompson suffered a foot injury during the 1979-80 season that limited him to 39 games that year, but Thompson returned the following season and averaged 25.5 points per game over 77 games.

Thompson dealt with plenty of off the court issues during his time in the NBA and in 1984, Thompson’s career ended abruptly after suffering a knee injury during a fight in New York City.

Thompson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and ranks 6th in minutes, 4th in points and 5th in PER for the Denver Franchise.

1. Alex English

Career with the Nuggets: 837 games, 25.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.8 blocks .507% FG, .836% FT

8x NBA All-Star, 3x All-NBA Second Team, Scoring Champion (1983)

It’s pretty much impossible to argue there was a better Denver Nugget than Alex English.

English is the Nuggets all-time leader in games, minutes, points and assists, he’s 4th in rebounds and 3rd in steals and his 25.9 career scoring average in the highest in Nuggets’ history.

English arrived in Denver after being traded from the Indiana Pacers for George McGinnis and instantly became a star for the Nuggets. English set then career-highs in every statistical category but Denver finished just 30-52.

English’s first All-Star selection came during the 1981-82 season when he started all 82 games for the Nuggets and averaged 25.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists. English was selected to the All-NBA Second Team at the end of the season and the Nuggets finished 46-36.

English’s best individual season was during the 1982-83 league year. English averaged a league-high 28.4 points and was selected to both the Western Conference All-Star Team and the All-NBA Second Team. English also helped the Nuggets get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in six years after averaging 25.9 points 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists that postseason.

English would go on to make the All-Star Game six more times for the Nuggets and the All-NBA Second Team again in 1986.

English became the first player ever to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons, he scored more points than anyone else during the 1980s and his 25,613 career points ranks 20th all-time in the NBA.

English missed just seven games during his 11 seasons in Denver, his number 2 jersey was retired by the Nuggets in 1992 and English was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.