The 1994–95 NBA season was the Nuggets' 19th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and 28th season as a franchise. The Nuggets had the 13th pick in the

1994 NBA draft The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...

, and selected

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy K ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and signed free agent

Dale Ellis Dale or dales may refer to: Locations * Dale (landform), an open valley * Dale (place name element) Geography ;Australia *The Dales (Christmas Island), in the Indian Ocean ;Canada *Dale, Ontario ;Ethiopia *Dale (woreda), district ;Norway *Da ...

during the off-season. Coming off their improbable playoff run, the Nuggets were bitten by the injury bug, losing LaPhonso Ellis for all but the final six games of the season due to a knee injury from an off-season pickup game. Without their star forward, second-year forward

Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Rogers was the fourth and youngest child born to Willie Wardsworth ...

became the team's starting power forward, while the Nuggets also replaced scoring leader

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Gri ...

as the team's starting point guard with Robert Pack, as the team won five of their first six games. However, head coach

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

resigned with the team holding an 18–16 record. Under his assistant

Gene Littles Eugene Scape Littles (June 29, 1943 – September 10, 2021) was an American basketball player and coach. He played six seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Carolina Cougars and Kentucky Colonels between 1969 and 1975. Litt ...

, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff. The team was out of playoff position with a 20–26 record at the All-Star break. Pack would come down with a knee injury in February, as Abdul-Rauf returned to the lineup; Pack would return during the final month of the season in April, but would then re-injure his knee after only playing just 42 games, starting in 32 of them, averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Under Bickerstaff, the Nuggets would recover making a late push winning 20 of their final 32 games. On the final day of the regular season, they faced the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

as both teams were fighting for the #8 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets would defeat the Kings 102–89 at

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. Located adjacent to Mile High Stadium and completed in 1975, at a cost of $16 million, it seated 16,061 for hockey games and 17,171 for basketball games. Sports use It was ...

to enter the playoffs, finishing fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record. Dikembe Mutombo captured his first Defensive Player of the Year award, averaging 11.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game. In addition, Abdul-Rauf led the team in scoring averaging 16.0 points per game, while Reggie Williams provided the team with 13.4 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Rogers contributed 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Dale Ellis played a sixth man role, averaging 11.3 points off the bench, while

Bryant Stith Bryant Lamonica Stith (born December 10, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a men's assistant basketball coach at University of North Carolina Green ...

contributed 11.2 points per game, Rose provided with 8.2 points and 4.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Brian Williams averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench. However, in the Western Conference First Round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as they were swept by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in three straight games. This would also be the Nuggets' final playoff appearance until 2004. Following the season, Rogers and Williams were both traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, and Pack was dealt to the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 8 , November 19, 1994
7:00p.m. MST ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

L 101–109
, Williams (26) , Williams (9) , Abdul-Rauf (5) ,

17,171 , 5–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 12 , November 29, 1994
6:30p.m. MST , @

L 81–96
,

Rogers Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

(16) , Mutombo (10) , Pack,

(4) , The Summit
14,295 , 6–6 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 34 , January 14, 1995
7:00p.m. MST ,

W 118–104
, Abdul-Rauf (36) , Williams (10) , Williams (11) ,

17,171 , 18–16 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 42 , January 31, 1995
6:30p.m. MST , @

L 74–86
,

(23) , Mutombo (13) ,

(5) , The Summit
14,761 , 19–23 , - align="center" , colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff", All-Star Break , - style="background:#cfc;" , - bgcolor="#bbffbb" , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 74 , April 9, 1995
1:30p.m. MDT ,

L 120–123
, Abdul-Rauf (34) , Mutombo (14) , Abdul-Rauf (7) ,

17,171 , 35–39

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 28 , @

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

L 88–104
,

(16) , Bison Dele (12) , three players tied (3) ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 mil ...

25,235 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 30 , @

L 96–122
,

(21) ,

(10) ,

, 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , May 2 ,

L 95–99
,

, Stith (18) ,

(9) ,

(7) ,

17,171 , 0–3 , -

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards, records, and honors

* Dikembe Mutombo,

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswrite ...

* Dikembe Mutombo,

NBA All-Defensive Second Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

2nd Team

Transactions

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

Trades

The Denver Nuggets did not make any trades in the off-season and the regular season. Player Transactions Citation:

References

Nuggets on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1994-95 Denver Nuggets season Denver Nuggets seasons Denver Nuggets season Denver Nuggets season Denver Nug