The Nuggets have had countless players come in and out the door over the past few decades. Some of them have left a lasting impact and legacy, while others have disappeared out of sight and immediately out of mind.
In the modern era of the NBA, player movement is extremely prevalent. Players rarely stay with one team for long and many players become mercenaries, drifting from team to team as their careers go on.
One player who never quite reached superstar stature and bounced around the league a bit, but managed to leave a lasting positive legacy in multiple places is Paul Millsap. Millsap was a second-round pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz who came into the league with very little fanfare.
But Paul quickly proved that he could play, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team in the 2006-07 season. He went on to play 16 seasons in the league for five different teams, including the Nuggets. Millsap made four all-star teams and an All-Defense team over his career that spanned three decades.
Paul Millsap announces retirement
On Tuesday, Millsap announced that he was officially retiring from basketball. He hasn’t played in the league since 2022, so many may have assumed that he was already retired, but he made that decision official this week.
After becoming a star in Atlanta, Millsap signed with the Nuggets in the summer of 2017 and would play for four seasons in Denver. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while helping lead the Nuggets to three straight playoff appearances.
He was a great veteran leader for the team and helped build the culture that exists now and helped the team eventually win their first championship in franchise history. Millsap won’t make the Hall of Fame and he won’t see his jersey hanging in the rafters, but he was an excellent player and someone who made a huge impact for the Nuggets on and off the court.
Millsap deserves his flowers and deserves a lot of credit for moving the Nuggets franchise along. It’s no coincidence that he was a veteran leader in the frontcourt on the team during Nikola Jokic’s formative years in the league.