1994–95 Denver Nuggets season

The 1994–95 NBA season was the 19th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season as a franchise.^[1] The Nuggets received the thirteenth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Jalen Rose from the University of Michigan,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Dale Ellis during the off-season.^[5][6][7] 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 regular season due to a knee injury from an off-season pickup game.^[8][9][10]

1994–95 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Dan Issel (resigned) (18–16) Gene Littles (interim) (3–13) Bernie Bickerstaff (20–12)
President	Bernie Bickerstaff
General manager	Bernie Bickerstaff
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	41–41 (.500)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Spurs 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KWGN-TV Prime Sports Rocky Mountain
Radio	KOA
< 1993–94 1995–96 >

Without their star forward, second-year forward Rodney Rogers became the team's starting power forward, while the Nuggets also replaced scoring leader Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 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 resigned with the team holding an 18–16 record.^[11][12] Under his assistant Gene Littles, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff.^[13][14][15] The team was out of playoff position with a 20–26 record at the All-Star break.^[16]

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.^[17][18] 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 on April 23, 1995, they faced off against the Sacramento Kings, as both teams were fighting for the eighth seed in the Western Conference; the Nuggets would defeat the Kings, 102–89 at the McNichols Sports Arena to qualify for the NBA playoffs, finishing in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record.^[19][20][21]

Dikembe Mutombo was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year,^[22][23][24] 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 Phoenix, Arizona.^[25][26][27] 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, and finished tied in ninth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[28][29] Meanwhile, Dale Ellis played a sixth man role, averaging 11.3 points per game and leading the Nuggets with 106 three-point field goals off the bench, while Bryant Stith 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.^[30]

However, in the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in three straight games.^[31][32][33] 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,^[34][35][36] and Pack was dealt to the Washington Bullets.^[37][38][39]

Draft picks

Main article: 1994 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	11	Jalen Rose	SG/SF	United States	Michigan

Roster

1994–95 Denver Nuggets roster

• v
• t
• e

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 1 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1969–03–09 LSU F 3 Dale Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee F 20 LaPhonso Ellis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–05–05 Notre Dame G 9 Greg Grant 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 1966–08–29 TCNJ F 21 Tom Hammonds 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–03–27 Georgia Tech F 53 Cliff Levingston 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–01–04 Wichita State C 55 Dikembe Mutombo 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1966–06–25 Georgetown G 14 Robert Pack 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1969–02–03 USC F 42 Mark Randall 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1967–09–30 Kansas F 54 Rodney Rogers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971–05–20 Wake Forest G 5 Jalen Rose 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–01–30 Michigan F 35 Reggie Slater 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1970–08–27 Wyoming G 23 Bryant Stith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1970–12–10 Virginia C 8 Brian Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–04–06 Arizona F 34 Reggie Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1964–03–05 Georgetown

Head coach Dan Issel (fired) Gene Littles (interim) Bernie Bickerstaff Assistant(s) Tom Nissalke Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: April 5, 1995

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-San Antonio Spurs	62	20	.756	—	33–8	29–12	20–6
x-Utah Jazz	60	22	.732	2	33–8	27–14	17–9
x-Houston Rockets	47	35	.573	15	25–16	22–19	13–13
x-Denver Nuggets	41	41	.500	21	23–18	18–23	13–13
Dallas Mavericks	36	46	.439	26	19–22	17–24	11–15
Minnesota Timberwolves	21	61	.256	41	13–28	8–33	4–22

^[40]

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Phoenix Suns	59	23	.720	3
3	x-Utah Jazz	60	22	.732	2
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	5
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585	14
6	x-Houston Rockets	47	35	.573	15
7	x-Portland Trail Blazers	44	38	.537	18
8	x-Denver Nuggets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	39	43	.476	23
10	Dallas Mavericks	36	46	.439	26
11	Golden State Warriors	26	56	.317	36
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	21	61	.256	41
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45

Record vs. opponents

1994-95 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	–	3–1	2–2	1–4	1–4	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	1–4	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0
Boston	1–3	–	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	2–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Charlotte	2–2	3–1	–	2–2	3–2	0–2	1–1	5–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–1	4–0	2–2	–	2–3	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Cleveland	4–1	2–2	2–3	3–2	–	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1
Dallas	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	–	1–4	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	4–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–3	0–4	2–4	1–1
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	–	1–1	1–3	1–4	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	6–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–4	2–0
Detroit	2–3	1–3	0–5	0–5	2–2	1–1	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–3	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	–	0–4	0–2	3–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–5	1–3	1–4	2–2	2–0
Houston	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	4–0	–	1–1	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–5	0–4	2–3	2–0
Indiana	4–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–3	0–2	–	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	1–4	0–4	0–5	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–3	4–0	1–1	3–2	–	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	3–2	1–3	4–1	2–2	2–0
Miami	2–2	1–4	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	–	4–0	1–1	1–3	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1
Milwaukee	3–1	3–1	1–4	4–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	–	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–6	1–1	3–1	2–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	0–4	3–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	–	1–4	2–2	2–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	–	2–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0
Orlando	3–1	3–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	3–2	–	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–2
Philadelphia	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–4	1–4	–	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–3	1–3	1–1	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	–	5–0	4–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	4–1	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	–	3–2	1–3	2–3	1–3	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	5–0	1–3	0–2	4–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	2–3	–	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	3–1	5–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	–	2–2	3–2	2–0
Seattle	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	4–1	4–0	1–1	5–0	1–4	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–4	3–2	2–3	2–2	–	1–3	2–0
Utah	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	2–3	3–1	–	2–0
Washington	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–4	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–4	2–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1994–95 game log Total: 41–31 (home: 23–18; road: 18–23)
November: 6–6 (home: 4–4; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 8 November 19, 1994 7:00 p.m. MST Houston L 101–109 Williams (26) Williams (9) Abdul-Rauf (5) McNichols Sports Arena 17,171 5–3 12 November 29, 1994 6:30 p.m. MST @ Houston L 81–96 Rogers (16) Mutombo (10) Pack, Rogers (4) The Summit 14,295 6–6
December: 8–7 (home: 5–2; road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 5–10 (home: 4–3; road: 1–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 34 January 14, 1995 7:00 p.m. MST Houston W 118–104 Abdul-Rauf (36) Williams (10) Williams (11) McNichols Sports Arena 17,171 18–16 42 January 31, 1995 6:30 p.m. MST @ Houston L 74–86 Rogers (23) Mutombo (13) Rogers (5) The Summit 14,761 19–23
February: 5–8 (home: 3–4; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record All-Star Break
March: 10–5 (home: 4–1; road: 6–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 7–5 (home: 3–4; road: 4–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 74 April 9, 1995 1:30 p.m. MDT Houston L 120–123 Abdul-Rauf (34) Mutombo (14) Abdul-Rauf (7) McNichols Sports Arena 17,171 35–39
1994–95 schedule

Playoffs

1995 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 @ San Antonio L 88–104 Bryant Stith (16) Bison Dele (12) three players tied (3) Alamodome 25,235 0–1 2 April 30 @ San Antonio L 96–122 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (21) Dale Ellis (10) Jalen Rose (10) Alamodome 0–2 3 May 2 San Antonio L 95–99 Rogers, Stith (18) Rodney Rogers (9) Jalen Rose (7) McNichols Sports Arena 17,171 0–3
1995 schedule

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	73	43	28.5	.470	.386	.885	1.9	3.6	1.1	0.1	16.0
Reggie Williams	74	70	29.7	.459	.320	.759	4.4	3.1	1.5	0.9	13.4
Rodney Rogers	80	77	26.8	.488	.338	.651	4.8	2.0	1.2	0.6	12.2
Robert Pack	42	32	27.2	.430	.417	.783	2.7	6.9	1.5	0.1	12.1
Dikembe Mutombo	82	82	37.8	.556		.654	12.5	1.4	0.5	3.9	11.5
Dale Ellis	81	3	24.6	.453	.403	.866	2.7	0.7	0.5	0.1	11.3
Bryant Stith	81	51	28.8	.472	.294	.824	3.3	1.9	1.1	0.2	11.2
Jalen Rose	81	37	22.2	.454	.316	.739	2.7	4.8	0.8	0.3	8.2
Bison Dele	63	10	20.0	.589		.654	4.7	0.8	0.6	0.7	7.9
Tom Hammonds	70	5	13.7	.535	.000	.746	3.2	0.5	0.2	0.2	5.9
Reggie Slater	25	0	9.4	.494		.727	2.3	0.5	0.3	0.1	4.8
LaPhonso Ellis	6	0	9.7	.360		1.000	2.8	0.7	0.2	0.8	4.0
Cliff Levingston	57	0	8.2	.423	.000	.422	2.2	0.5	0.2	0.4	2.3
Greg Grant	14	0	10.8	.303	.286	.750	0.6	3.1	0.4	0.1	2.2
Eldridge Recasner	3	0	4.3	.167	.000	1.000	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.0	2.0
Darnell Mee	2	0	4.0	.200	.333		0.5	1.0	0.5	0.0	1.5
Mark Randall	8	0	4.9	.300	.000		1.5	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bryant Stith	3	1	28.3	.531	.167	.789	3.0	2.3	0.3	0.3	16.7
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf	3	2	25.3	.364	.167	1.000	1.7	1.7	0.7	0.0	13.3
Dale Ellis	3	0	24.3	.357	.308	.923	4.7	1.0	0.7	0.3	12.0
Jalen Rose	3	3	33.0	.464	.250	.600	3.7	6.0	1.0	0.7	10.0
Reggie Williams	3	3	28.0	.222	.308	1.000	5.3	4.0	1.0	0.3	8.7
Rodney Rogers	3	3	25.3	.545	.250	.250	4.0	1.7	1.0	1.3	8.7
Bison Dele	3	0	14.7	.556		1.000	6.0	0.7	0.0	0.3	8.0
Tom Hammonds	3	0	14.7	.643		.333	2.3	0.3	0.0	0.7	6.7
Dikembe Mutombo	3	3	28.0	.600		.667	6.3	0.3	0.0	2.3	6.0
Cliff Levingston	3	0	11.7	.500		.500	3.0	0.3	1.0	0.7	2.3
Greg Grant	3	0	6.7	.000	.000	1.000	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.7

Player Statistics Citation:^[30]

Awards, records, and honors

• Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Dikembe Mutombo, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Jalen Rose, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Date	Former team
Reggie Slater	Free agent	August 2, 1994	Girona (Spain)
Cliff Levingston	Free agent	September 29, 1994	Buckler Bologna (Italy)
Dale Ellis	Free agent	October 4, 1994	San Antonio Spurs
Mark Randall	Signed two 10-day contracts	February 23, 1995	Fort Wayne Fury (CBA)
Eldridge Recasner	10-day contract	March 14, 1995	Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
Greg Grant	Signed two 10-day contracts	March 14, 1995	Mexico City Aztecas (CBA)
Mark Randall	Signed for rest of season	March 17, 1995	Denver Nuggets
Greg Grant	Signed for rest of season	April 5, 1995	Denver Nuggets

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	Date	New team
Alvin Robertson	Waived	October 3, 1994	Toronto Raptors
Mark Randall	Waived	November 1, 1994	Fort Wayne Fury (CBA)
Darnell Mee	Waived	February 1, 1995	Tri-City Chinook (CBA)

Trades

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

Player Transactions Citation:^[41]