1993–94 Denver Nuggets season
NBA professional basketball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1993–94 NBA season was the Nuggets' 18th season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season as a franchise.[1] The Nuggets had the ninth overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected Rodney Rogers out of Wake Forest University.[2][3][4][5][6] During the off-season, the team acquired Brian Williams from the Orlando Magic,[7][8][9] then during the first month of the regular season, they traded Mark Macon and Marcus Liberty to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for All-Star guard Alvin Robertson. However, Robertson never played for the Nuggets due to a back injury, and was out for the entire season.[10][11][12] The Nuggets played around .500 all season long with a 22–25 record at the All-Star break,[13] and finished fourth in the Midwest Division with a 42–40 record and made the playoffs for the first time in four years.[14] The Nuggets qualified for the playoffs as the #8 seed in the Western Conference.
1993–94 Denver Nuggets season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Dan Issel | ||
General manager | Bernie Bickerstaff | ||
President | Bernie Bickerstaff | ||
Arena | McNichols Sports Arena | ||
Results | |||
Record | 42–40 (.512) | ||
Place | Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | Conference Semi-finals (lost to Jazz 3–4) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | |||
Radio | KOA | ||
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Last season's Most Improved Player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf led the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game, while second-year star LaPhonso Ellis averaged 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and Dikembe Mutombo averaged 12.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game. In addition, Reggie Williams provided the team with 13.0 points and 1.4 steals per game, while second-year guard Bryant Stith contributed 12.5 points and 1.4 steals per game, and sixth man Robert Pack provided with 9.6 points and 5.4 assists per game off the bench.[15] Mutombo also finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.[16][17]
The Western Conference First Round saw the Nuggets matched up with the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics had posted a league best 63–19 record, as the Nuggets lost the first two games of the series.[18][19][20] Upon arriving in Denver, the Nuggets used the shot blocking presence of Mutombo to match up with the Sonics. Along with career performances by Pack, Reggie Williams and Brian Williams, the Nuggets evened the series. The series went back to Seattle for the 5th game. The Nuggets rallied to tie the game and force overtime. The Nuggets would emerge with a 4-point victory by the score of 98–94, and became the first 8th-seeded team to beat a #1 seed. An on-court camera featured Mutombo, in jubilation on his back holding the ball after the buzzer.[21][22][23][24]
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Nuggets dropped their first 3 games to the 5th-seeded Utah Jazz.[25][26][27] Despite the threat of elimination, the Nuggets would rally to win the next 3 games and force a game seven.[28][29][30] The postseason run would end as they lost 91–81.[31][32][33][34][35] Following the season, Robertson was released to free agency.
For the season, the Nuggets revealed a new primary logo of a snowcapped mountain over the team name in gold,[36] and changed their uniforms adding dark navy blue, gold and dark red to their color scheme.[37][38] The new logo and uniforms both remained in use until 2003, while the basic design of the logo lasted until 2018.