1992–93 Denver Nuggets season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Nuggets' 17th season in the National Basketball Association and 26th season as a franchise.[1] In the 1992 NBA draft, the Nuggets selected LaPhonso Ellis out of Notre Dame University with the fifth overall pick, and selected Bryant Stith from the University of Virginia with the thirteenth overall pick.[2][3][4][5][6] During the off-season, the team acquired second-year guard Robert Pack from the Portland Trail Blazers,[7][8][9] and brought back Dan Issel as their new head coach; Issel starred for the Nuggets for ten seasons as a player.[10][11][12] Under Issel, the Nuggets got off to a 7–7 start, but then suffered a 14-game losing streak from December 5 to January 5.[13] At midseason, the team signed free agent Tom Hammonds, who was previously released by the Charlotte Hornets.[14][15] Despite the losing streak, the Nuggets showed significant improvement holding a 20–30 record at the All-Star break,[16] and missed the playoffs by three games with a record of 36–46, fourth in the Midwest Division.[17]

1992–93 Denver Nuggets season
Head coachDan Issel
General managerBernie Bickerstaff
PresidentBernie Bickerstaff
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record36–46 (.439)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Midwest)
Conference: 11th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioKOA

The progress of second-year star Dikembe Mutombo into one of the league's best defensive players was reason for hope, as he averaged 13.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, while Chris Jackson led the team in scoring averaging 19.2 points per game, which resulted in him being named the Most Improved Player of the Year.[18][19][20][21] In addition, Ellis averaged 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Reggie Williams provided the team with 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and 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,[22][23] and Marcus Liberty provided with 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[24]

Following the season, Jackson would change his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf after converting to Islam two years ago,[25][26][27][28] and Todd Lichti and Anthony Cook, who missed the entire season with a knee injury, were both traded to the Orlando Magic.[29][30][31] It was also the final season the Nuggets wore their "rainbow skyline" uniforms.

NBA draft
Main article: 1992 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
15LaPhonso EllisPF/SF United StatesNotre Dame
113Bryant StithSG United StatesVirginia
246Robert WerdannC United StatesSt. John's

Roster
1992–93 Denver Nuggets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 43 Brooks, Kevin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1969–10–12 Louisiana
F 45 Cook, Anthony Injured (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–03–19 Arizona
F 20 Ellis, LaPhonso 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–05–05 Notre Dame
F 21 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–03–27 Georgia Tech
C 10 Hastings, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1960–06–03 Arkansas
G 3 Jackson, Chris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1969–03–09 LSU
F 30 Liberty, Marcus 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–10–27 Illinois
G 21 Lichti, Todd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–01–08 Stanford
G 1 Macon, Mark 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969–04–14 Temple
C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1966–06–25 Georgetown
G 14 Pack, Robert 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1969–02–03 USC
F 45 Plummer, Gary 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–02–21 Boston University
G 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1970–12–10 Virginia
C 28 Werdann, Robert 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–09–12 St. John's
G/F 34 Williams, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–03–05 Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 5, 1993

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Houston Rockets5527.671—31–1024–17

19–7

x-San Antonio Spurs4933.598631–1018–2317–9
x-Utah Jazz4735.573828–1319–2216–10
Denver Nuggets3646.4391928–138–3313–13
Minnesota Timberwolves1963.2323611–308–3310–16
Dallas Mavericks1171.134447–344–373–23
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Phoenix Suns6220.756–
2 y-Houston Rockets5527.6717
3 x-Seattle SuperSonics5527.6717
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers5131.62211
5 x-San Antonio Spurs4933.59813
6 x-Utah Jazz4735.57315
7 x-Los Angeles Clippers4141.50021
8 x-Los Angeles Lakers3943.47623
9 Denver Nuggets3646.43926
10 Golden State Warriors3448.41528
11 Sacramento Kings2557.30537
12 Minnesota Timberwolves1963.23243
13 Dallas Mavericks1171.13451
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1992-93 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta –2–23–22–20–51–12–02–32–01–12–21–11–13–13–22–01–32–21–33–10–21–11–12–01–12–02–2
Boston 2–2–3–11–33–12–02–01–32–01–12–21–11–13–12–22–04–01–43–24–10–22–01–11–10–20–24–1
Charlotte 2–31–3–2–31–32–01–14–12–00–20–51–11–12–23–12–02–21–33–14–00–21–12–01–11–11–14–0
Chicago 2–23–13–2–2–32–01–13–12–00–25–02–00–23–14–12–04–01–33–12–21–12–02–00–22–02–04–0
Cleveland 5–01–33–13–2–2–01–13–22–01–14–01–12–02–24–12–02–21–32–24–02–00–21–11–11–11–13–1
Dallas 1–10–20–20–20–2–1–51–10–41–41–10–41–30–20–21–40–20–21–11–10–40–40–40–51–30–51–1
Denver 0–20–21–11–11–15–1–1–13–12–31–12–21–30–21–13–21–11–10–21–11–31–33–11–41–32–32–0
Detroit 3–23–11–41–32–31–11–1–0–21–13–21–11–11–32–21–13–12–23–13–10–21–12–00–20–20–24–0
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–24–01–32–0–2–20–22–31–42–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–40–54–13–11–43–11–1
Houston 1–11–12–02–01–14–13–21–12–2–2–04–03–12–01–14–21–11–11–12–02–21–34–04–11–34–11–1
Indiana 2–22–25–00–50–41–11–12–32–00–2–1–11–12–22–31–13–11–32–23–11–11–12–01–12–00–23–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–11–10–21–14–02–21–13–20–41–1–3–20–22–04–00–22–01–11–13–22–33–20–41–42–22–0
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–12–00–23–13–11–14–11–31–12–3–0–21–13–10–20–21–12–00–53–23–22–21–41–32–0
Miami 1–31–32–21–32–22–02–03–10–20–22–22–02–0–2–22–02–30–53–21–30–21–11–11–11–10–22–3
Milwaukee 2–32–21–31–41–42–01–12–21–11–13–20–21–12–2–1–10–41–32–22–20–20–21–10–20–20–21–3
Minnesota 0–20–20–20–20–24–12–31–11–32–41–10–41–30–21–1–1–10–20–20–20–41–31–31–40–41–41–1
New Jersey 3–10–42–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–11–32–02–03–24–01–1–1–33–23–21–10–22–01–11–11–14–1
New York 2–24–13–13–13–12–01–12–22–01–13–10–22–05–03–12–03–1–2–25–01–11–12–02–01–11–14–1
Orlando 3–12–31–31–32–21–12–01–31–11–12–21–11–12–32–22–02–32–2–3–20–22–02–00–20–21–14–0
Philadelphia 1–31–40–42–20–41–11–11–31–10–21–31–10–23–12–22–02–30–52–3–0–20–21–10–21–10–23–1
Phoenix 2–02–02–01–10–24–03–12–04–12–21–12–35–02–02–04–01–11–12–02–0–3–25–03–12–33–12–0
Portland 1–10–21–10–22–04–03–11–15–03–11–13–22–31–12–03–12–01–10–22–02–3–5–02–22–32–21–1
Sacramento 1–11–10–20–21–14–01–30–21–40–40–22–32–31–11–13–10–20–20–21–10–50–5–2–21–42–21–1
San Antonio 0–21–11–12–01–15–04–12–01–31–41–14–02–21–12–04–11–10–22–02–01–32–22–2–3–13–31–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–13–13–12–04–13–10–24–14–11–12–04–01–11–12–01–13–23–24–11–3–2–22–0
Utah 0–22–01–10–21–15–03–22–01–31–42–02–23–12–02–04–11–11–11–12–01–32–22–23–32–2–1–1
Washington 2–21–40–40–41–31–10–20–41–11–11–30–20–23–23–11–11–41–40–41–30–21–11–11–10–21–1—

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 81 81 33.5 .450 .355 .935 2.8 4.2 1.0 0.1 19.2
Reggie Williams 79 79 34.5 .458 .270 .804 5.4 3.7 1.6 1.0 17.0
LaPhonso Ellis 82 82 33.5 .504 .154 .748 9.1 1.8 0.9 1.4 14.7
Dikembe Mutombo 82 82 36.9 .510 .681 13.0 1.8 0.5 3.5 13.8
Robert Pack 77 1 20.5 .470 .125 .768 2.1 4.4 1.1 0.1 10.5
Bryant Stith 39 12 22.2 .446 .000 .832 3.2 1.3 0.6 0.1 8.9
Marcus Liberty 78 32 20.3 .406 .373 .654 4.3 1.3 0.8 0.3 8.1
Mark Macon 48 27 23.8 .415 .000 .700 2.1 2.6 1.4 0.1 7.5
Todd Lichti 48 12 15.7 .449 .333 .794 2.1 1.1 0.6 0.2 6.9
Tom Hammonds 35 0 16.3 .489 .000 .611 2.7 0.5 0.5 0.2 5.9
Gary Plummer 60 0 12.3 .465 .000 .726 2.9 0.7 0.2 0.2 4.7
Kevin Brooks 55 2 10.4 .399 .231 .875 1.5 0.6 0.2 0.0 4.1
Scott Hastings 76 0 8.8 .509 .250 .727 1.8 0.4 0.2 0.1 2.1
Robert Werdann 28 0 5.3 .305 .000 .548 1.9 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.9

Player Statistics Citation:[24]

Awards, records, and honors

References
  1. "1992-93 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats".
  2. Araton, Harvey (June 25, 1992). "BASKETBALL; Draft Sticks to Program Until the 5th Pick, That Is". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  3. "After Big Men Go First, Locals Go in First Round: NBA Draft: Miner Goes to Heat at No. 12. Lakers Take Peeler. Clippers Select: La Salle's Woods with Their First Pick". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 25, 1992. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. Wojciechowski, Gene (June 25, 1992). "Miner Didn't Realize Heat Would Be on Like This: NBA Draft: USC Star Waits Longer Than Expected Before Miami Makes Him the 12th Overall Selection. UCLA's Murray Goes to San Antonio, Pepperdine's Christie to Seattle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  5. Aldridge, David (June 25, 1992). "O'Neal, Mourning 1-2". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  6. "1992 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  7. "Trail Blazers Trade Pack to Nuggets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 24, 1992. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  8. "Bullets Trade 2 Players for Pack". United Press International. October 30, 1995. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  9. Bembry, Jerry (December 15, 1995). "Going Fast Forward Robert Pack: Dumped by the Blazers and Nuggets, the Super-Quick Point Guard Pumps Life Into the Bullets". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Time Out: Don't Call Issel 'Coach' Just Yet". The New York Times. May 14, 1992. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. "Issel Named Nuggets Coach". United Press International. May 20, 1992. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  12. "Three NBA Teams Decide on Coaches: Basketball: Pistons Expected to Hire Rothstein. Nuggets Take Issel, and Rockets Stay with Tomjanovich". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 21, 1992. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  13. "All-Time Longest Denver Nuggets Losing Streaks". Champs or Chumps. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  14. Aldridge, David (February 14, 1993). "Uninspired Bullets Routed by Nuggets". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  15. Goldstein, Alan (February 20, 1993). "Overmatched Bullets Looking for a Break; Growing Pains Leave Team Gasping". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  16. "NBA Games Played on February 18, 1993". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  17. "1992–93 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  18. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Nugget Wins Improved Player Award". The New York Times. May 13, 1993. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  19. "Jackson Named Most Improved". Tampa Bay Times. May 13, 1993. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  20. "Sports Capsules". Deseret News. May 13, 1993. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  21. "NBA & ABA Most Improved Player Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  22. Heisler, Mark (November 23, 1992). "Nuggets Remain Under Lakers' Thumbs, 119-107". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  23. Howard-Cooper, Scott (November 29, 1992). "Clippers Talk It Out, Take It Out on the Nuggets, 121-119". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  24. "1992–93 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  25. Mossman, John (March 14, 1996). "Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: An Intensely Private Person in the Spotlight". Associated Press. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  26. Lipsyte, Robert (March 17, 1996). "Athletes Standing Up as They Did Before". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  27. Uitti, Jacob (October 15, 2022). "Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: "I Lost Millions, Because I Couldn't Keep My Mouth Shut"". The Guardian. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  28. Denver Nuggets (1967-Present)
  29. "Nuggets Aquire [sic] Williams". United Press International. August 19, 1993. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  30. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Nuggets-Magic Trade". The New York Times. August 20, 1993. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  31. Shelton, Gary (August 22, 1993). "Down on Luck, Lichti Can Use Some Magic". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
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