The

1992–93 NBA season The 1992–93 NBA season was the 47th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third straight NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurr ...

was the 17th season for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

in the

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

, and their 26th season as a franchise. The Nuggets received the fifth overall pick in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

, and selected power forward LaPhonso Ellis out of

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order o ...

, and also selected shooting guard Bryant Stith from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

with the thirteenth overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired second-year guard Robert Pack from the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, and brought back

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning All-American twice en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his ...

as their new head coach; Issel starred for the Nuggets for ten seasons as a player. Under Issel, the Nuggets got off to a 7–7 start to the regular season, but then suffered a 14-game losing streak from December 5, 1992 to January 5, 1993. At mid-season, the team signed free agent

Tom Hammonds Tom Edward Hammonds (born March 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida. ...

, who was previously released by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. Despite the losing streak, the Nuggets showed significant improvement by holding a 20–30 record at the All-Star break, and finishing in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 36–46 record, missing the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

by finishing three games behind the 8th–seeded

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

; the team also posted a very successful 28–13 home record at the

McNichols Sports Arena McNichols Sports Arena was an indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. 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. Sp ...

during the regular season. Chris Jackson became the Nuggets' starting point guard this season, as he averaged 19.2 points and 4.2 assists per game, shot .935 in free throw percentage, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year. In addition, Reggie Williams averaged 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while Ellis provided the team with 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First 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 play ...

, and second-year star

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

provided with 13.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Pack contributed 10.5 points and 4.4 assists per game off the bench, Stith contributed 8.9 points per game, but only played just 39 games due to a broken toe, and right foot injury, Marcus Liberty averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and second-year guard Mark Macon provided with 7.5 points and 1.4 steals per game, but only played just 48 games due to injury. Following the season, Jackson would change his name to

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 Griz ...

after converting to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

two years ago, and

Todd Lichti Todd Samuel Lichti (born January 8, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. At and he played at guard (basketball), guard. He was selected with 15th pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets where he stayed for 4 yea ...

and Anthony Cook, who missed the entire regular season due to a knee injury, were both traded to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. It was also the final season the Nuggets wore their "rainbow skyline" uniforms.

NBA draft

Roster

Roster Notes

* Power forward Anthony Cook was on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

due to a knee injury, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

:y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot :z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Player statistics

Regular season

Player Statistics Citation:

Awards, records, and honors

NBA Most Improved Player Award The NBA's Most Improved Player (MIP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player who has shown the most progress during the regular season compared to previous seasons. The winner is selected by a panel of sportsw ...

* LaPhonso Ellis,

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 play ...

1st Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1992-93 Denver Nuggets Season Denver Nuggets seasons 1992 in sports in Colorado 1993 in sports in Colorado