When Carmelo Anthony was drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, the 19-year-old was going from a Syracuse squad that he had just led to a National Title, to arguably the worst team in the NBA. Before Melo got there, the Nuggets hadn’t made the playoffs since 1995 and during that span had won more than 35 games in a season just once.
In 1998, they won just 11 games, and in 2003 their 17 wins set them up with the lottery pick that would change the franchise’s fortunes. Melo’s arrival signaled a new age for the Nuggets, one where playoff berths would become the norm. During his time in the shadow of Mount Evans, Anthony was an exemplary superstar, racking up four All-Star nods and four All-NBA selections while with the team.
However, he also stayed patient while the Nuggets brass replaced, rethought, and moved the pieces around him, time and time again. Melo was lucky enough to have consistent teammates like Nene and Marcus Camby, as well as legendary point guards like Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson. But the lack of quality behind the top dogs kept the Nuggets from progressing.
The Nikola Jokic era is the first time the Nuggets have been relevant since Melo left. But even so, while Denver made the playoffs every single season Anthony played there, their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 was the only time that they made it past the first round. So, who were the guys starting alongside Carmelo Anthony from 2003 to 2011 that simply weren’t up to snuff?
6. Eduardo Najera, Denver Nuggets Forward, 2005-08
Eduardo Najera — the first ever Mexican-born player to be drafted into the NBA — was selected in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks (via draft day trade with the Houston Rockets) in 2000. Najera was mostly a reserve during his first five years with the Mavs and the Golden State Warriors, starting just 38 games over that span.
He arrived in Denver via trade in 2005 and his minutes per game jumped from the 14.6 he was getting in Golden State, to 22.1 with the Nuggets. The next year he played similar minutes coming off the bench, but during the 2006-07 season, he was given the chance to start in 36 games after Kenyon Martin was forced to undergo another surgery on his knee.
Najera put up 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game on 56% from the field in those starts, but it simply wasn’t enough. The Nuggets then made a major midseason trade in which they acquired Allen Iverson, among others. After that, Najera went back to the bench as other players such as Nene and Yakhouba Diawara emerged as more significant contributors. He went on to five more unimpressive years in the league and is now a scout for the Mavericks.
5. Shelden Williams, Denver Nuggets Center, 2010-11
Shelden Williams had himself a banner year in 2006. He was named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year, he earned consensus All-American honors, and he was drafted fifth overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He started 31 games that season but lost the job halfway through due to underwhelming performance.
Williams did not start another game for the next five years as he bounced around and played for four different teams. In 2010 he landed in Denver where he was once again given a chance to get into the starting five. He started 32 of 42 possible games, but he was only given 17 minutes each night. In those short minutes, he averaged just 4.7 points per game, though he did have a decent rebounding output at 5.3 rebounds per contest.
However, he was never meant to be in the Rockies for long. He was shipped to the Big Apple in February 2011 in a mega trade that was to mark the end of the Carmelo Anthony era in Denver. Williams had been the latest example of the Nuggets brass’ frustrating penchant to surround Melo with sturdy but unexceptional teammates, which was one of the main reasons he started looking for greener pastures.
4. DerMarr Johnson, Denver Nuggets Wing, 2004-07
DerMarr Johnson was one of the hottest basketball commodities of 1999. He won the Parade National High School Player of the Year that year and was part of the memorably talented 1999-2000 Cincinnati Bearcats team that also included Kenyon Martin. Both opted for the NBA draft that year, where Martin went No. 1 overall and Johnson went sixth to the Atlanta Hawks.
Johnson underperformed for most of his first two years in the league, though he did offer promise. However, just before his third year, he was in a car accident that nearly paralyzed him and threatened to end his basketball career entirely. Thankfully, he was able to make a slow but full recovery, and two years later in 2004, he reunited with Martin in Denver.
Johnson was able to wrestle the starting two-guard spot from the guy who hold the top spot on this list about halfway through the 2004-05 season. He scored an efficient 8.7 points per game in about 20.4 minutes, across 28 starts. Johnson was only a placeholder, however, and he faded back into the background the next year and was out of the NBA in 2008 at just 28 years of age. He’s now an assistant coach with the West Virginia Mountaineers.
3. Francisco Elson, Denver Nuggets Center, 2003-06
After playing professionally in his home country of the Netherlands, Francisco Elson was drafted into the NBA by the Denver Nuggets in 1999. After being selected, he would go on to play four years of pro ball in Spain before joining the team in 2003, the same year as Melo. He played sparingly during his first two years but did draw attention for his physical battle with Kevin Garnett in the 2004 playoffs.
Elson was given his first real shot during the 2005-06 season. He started 54 games largely due to Kenyon Martin’s issues with knee tendinitis, and the various ailments Marcus Camby dealt with throughout that campaign. Unfortunately, the Dutchman did not exactly take advantage of his opportunity. He averaged just 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 21.9 minutes per contest.
With that kind of playing time, it certainly can’t be said that George Karl didn’t give Elson a shot. The Nuggets allowed him to leave in free agency and, luckily for Elson, he landed with the San Antonio Spurs, with whom he won an NBA title the very next season.
2. Dahntay Jones, Denver Nuggets Wing, 2008-09
A first-round pick by the Boston Celtics out of Duke, Dahntay Jones hadn’t made much of an impression on the league when he arrived in Denver in 2008. He was a solid defensive player, but he couldn’t contribute much beyond that. As a result, he started just 36 games across his first five years with Memphis and Sacramento. Despite that track record, the Nuggets thought he was the missing piece in the starting lineup for the 2008-09 campaign.
There is no denying that this was the best year the Nuggets had during the Carmelo Anthony, but the addition of Jones can hardly be characterized as the catalyst for their run to the Western Conference Finals. Jones was merely window dressing, with the early-season acquisition of Chauncey Billups serving as the engine pushing the Nuggets to new heights.
Jones started 71 games that year but played just 18.1 minutes per game while scoring 7.0 points per contest. It could even be said that Jones’ status as a starter was almost ceremonial, as he was ninth in minutes played despite starting the third-most games.
After leaving the Nuggets, Jones averaged 10.2 points per game for the Indiana Pacers the next year, before playing six more forgettable seasons in the NBA. Despite the unremarkable back nine of his career, he was nominally part of the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 championship team.
1. Greg Buckner, Denver Nuggets Wing, 2004-06
After five mediocre seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers — during which he started just 34 games — Greg Buckner landed with Denver in 2004. Buckner came in and curiously started right away for the Nuggets. However, in 40 starts over the first 44 games of the season, he was only contributing 6.5 points per start and not much else in his 23.3 minutes per game.
DerMarr Johnson would end up swooping in to take his starting duties for the latter half of the season, and Buckner would only be called on for spot start duty thereafter, until his departure from the Nuggets in 2006. Buckner was a journeyman player who was so poor that he allowed his starting spot in Denver to be taken away by a player who was so mediocre he’s also on this dubious list.
As a second-round pick out of Clemson, Buckner was not expected to amount to much in the NBA—and he didn’t. However, while those low expectations proved correct for Buckner on the court, the same can’t be said of him on the sidelines, as he has put together a solid NBA coaching career over the past decade and currently serves as the associate head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.