The

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. Not ...

was the Nuggets' 25th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

, and 34th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Nuggets acquired

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fro ...

and former Nuggets guard Robert Pack from the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

, and acquired

Voshon Lenard Voshon Kelan Lenard (born May 14, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was listed as 6' 4" (1.93 m) and 215 lbs, and was born in Detroit, Michigan. ...

from the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, acquired

Tracy Murray Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, C ...

from the

Washington Wizards 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 ...

, and re-signed free agent and former Nuggets guard Anthony Goldwire. However, Cheaney only played just nine games due to a strained left hamstring, and

Tariq Abdul-Wahad Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Michael Saint-Jean; November 3, 1974) is a French basketball coach and former player. As Olivier Saint-Jean, he played college basketball at Michigan and San Jose State. In 1997, the Sacramento Kings selected Saint ...

only played just 29 games due to weight problems. At midseason, the Nuggets traded Murray along with

Keon Clark Arian Keon Clark (born April 16, 1975) is an American former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing career After a collegiate career at two different junior colleges and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV, Clar ...

to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Atlantic Division (NBA) ...

in exchange for

Kevin Willis Kevin Alvin Willis (born September 6, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player mostly known for playing with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 7-foot power forward/ center. Excluding playe ...

. The Nuggets got off to a 10–8 start, then lost five straight games, but then won 14 of their next 17 games, and were a playoff contender posting a record of 26–18 as of January 27. The team held a 27–24 record at the All-Star break. However, they lost 24 of their final 38 games as they missed 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 ...

with a 40–42 record, sixth in the Midwest Division.

Antonio McDyess Antonio Keithflen McDyess (born September 7, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Listed at 6'9" (2.06 m) and 245 lb (111 kg), McDyess played as a power forward. Early life McDyess was born in Quitman, Missi ...

averaged 20.8 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was selected for the

2001 NBA All-Star Game The 2001 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 11, 2001 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Wizards. This game was the 50th edition of the North American National Basketball As ...

, while

Nick Van Exel Nickey Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Exel played for six NBA teams from 1 ...

averaged 17.7 points and 8.5 assists per game, and

Raef LaFrentz Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball power forward and center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Associati ...

provided the team with 12.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and led them with 2.6 blocks per game. In addition, Lenard contributed 12.2 points per game, while sixth man

George McCloud George Aaron McCloud (born May 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life McCloud attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach and Florida ...

contributed 9.6 points per game off the bench, and second-year forward

James Posey James Mikely Mantell Posey Jr. (born January 13, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played the small forward pos ...

provided with 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Following the season, Willis was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, who then sent him back to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

, and Pack and Goldwire were both released to free agency.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also