1994–95 Denver Nuggets season

The 1994–95 NBA season was the Nuggets' 19th season in the National Basketball Association, and 28th season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the Nuggets signed free agent Dale Ellis.[2] 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 preseason knee injury.[3] Without their star forward, second-year forward Rodney Rogers would step into the lineup averaging 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Nuggets also replaced scoring leader Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in the lineup with backup point guard 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. Under his assistant Gene Littles, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff.[4]

1994–95 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach
General managerBernie Bickerstaff
PresidentBernie Bickerstaff
ArenaMcNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Midwest)
Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst round
(Lost to Spurs 0–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioKOA

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, averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.[5] 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 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 to enter the playoffs, finishing fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record.[6]

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.[7] 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, Dale Ellis played a sixth man role averaging 11.3 points off the bench, Bryant Stith contributed 11.2 points per game, and top draft pick Jalen Rose provided with 8.2 points and 4.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.[8]

However, in the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in three straight games.[9] This would also be their final playoff appearance until 2004. Following the season, Rogers and Brian Williams were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers,[10] and Pack was dealt to the Washington Bullets.[11]

Draft picks
Main article: 1994 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
111Jalen RoseSG/SF United StatesMichigan

Roster
1994–95 Denver Nuggets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 1 Abdul-Rauf, Mahmoud 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1969–03–09 LSU
F 3 Ellis, Dale 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee
F 20 Ellis, LaPhonso  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–05–05 Notre Dame
G 9 Grant, Greg 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 1966–08–29 Trenton State
F 21 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1967–03–27 Georgia Tech
F 53 Levingston, Cliff 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1961–01–04 Wichita State
C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe (C) 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 Southern California
F 42 Randall, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1967–09–30 Kansas
F 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971–05–20 Wake Forest
G 5 Rose, Jalen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–01–30 Michigan
F 35 Slater, Reggie  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1970–08–27 Wyoming
G 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1970–12–10 Virginia
C 8 Williams, Brian 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1969–04–06 Arizona
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

Roster
Last transaction: April 5, 1995

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 6220.756—33–829–1220–6
x-Utah Jazz 6022.732233–827–1417–9
x-Houston Rockets 4735.5731525–1622–1913–13
x-Denver Nuggets 4141.5002123–1818–2313–13
Dallas Mavericks 3646.4392619–2217–2411–15
Minnesota Timberwolves 2161.2564113–288–334–22

[12]

# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs6220.756–
2 y-Phoenix Suns5923.7203
3 x-Utah Jazz6022.7322
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics5725.6955
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers4834.58514
6 x-Houston Rockets4735.57315
7 x-Portland Trail Blazers4438.53718
8 x-Denver Nuggets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings3943.47623
10 Dallas Mavericks3646.43926
11 Golden State Warriors2656.31736
12 Minnesota Timberwolves2161.25641
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745

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 –3–12–21–41–42–02–03–22–00–21–42–00–22–21–32–04–02–21–33–11–11–11–11–10–20–24–0
Boston 1–3–1–30–42–21–11–13–12–01–12–20–21–14–11–32–02–30–52–33–11–10–21–10–21–10–23–1
Charlotte 2–23–1–2–23–20–21–15–02–00–21–42–00–23–14–11–13–13–11–33–10–22–01–11–12–02–03–1
Chicago 4–14–02–2–2–31–11–15–02–01–12–21–11–13–11–42–02–23–11–34–01–11–10–21–10–20–22–2
Cleveland 4–12–22–33–2–0–21–12–22–00–22–31–11–11–34–01–14–02–21–33–11–11–11–10–20–21–13–1
Dallas 0–21–12–01–12–0–1–41–13–12–31–13–11–30–21–14–11–10–20–22–00–43–12–22–30–42–41–1
Denver 0–21–11–11–11–14–1–1–11–31–41–14–02–22–02–06–01–10–20–21–11–33–12–21–41–31–42–0
Detroit 2–31–30–50–52–21–11–1–1–10–22–21–10–21–32–31–12–21–31–34–01–10–21–10–20–20–23–1
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–21–33–11–1–0–40–23–23–21–10–21–31–11–10–21–13–21–40–51–31–42–22–0
Houston 2–01–12–01–12–03–24–12–04–0–1–13–10–42–01–13–22–00–20–22–03–11–33–11–50–42–32–0
Indiana 4–12–24–12–23–21–11–12–22–01–1–2–01–12–23–22–03–11–32–24–01–11–12–02–01–10–23–1
L.A. Clippers 0–22–00–21–11–11–30–41–12–31–30–2–2–30–21–11–30–20–20–21–11–40–51–40–40–51–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–12–01–11–13–12–22–02–34–01–13–2–1–11–13–12–00–21–11–11–42–33–21–34–12–22–0
Miami 2–21–41–31–33–12–00–23–11–10–22–22–01–1–4–01–11–31–41–31–40–20–20–20–20–20–24–1
Milwaukee 3–13–11–44–10–41–10–23–22–01–12–31–11–10–4–1–12–22–20–43–10–20–21–10–20–20–23–1
Minnesota 0–20–21–10–21–11–40–61–13–12–30–23–11–31–11–1–1–10–21–11–10–40–41–30–50–41–41–1
New Jersey 0–43–21–32–20–41–11–12–21–10–21–32–00–23–12–21–1–1–42–22–30–21–11–10–21–10–22–3
New York 2–25–01–31–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–02–04–12–22–04–1–2–34–01–11–12–01–10–20–24–0
Orlando 3–13–23–13–13–12–02–03–12–02–02–22–01–13–14–01–12–23–2–4–11–12–01–11–10–21–13–2
Philadelphia 1–31–31–30–41–30–21–10–41–10–20–41–11–14–11–31–13–20–41–4–0–22–01–10–20–20–23–2
Phoenix 1–11–12–01–11–14–03–11–12–31–31–14–14–12–02–04–02–01–11–12–0–5–04–12–24–12–22–0
Portland 1–12–00–21–11–11–31–32–04–13–11–15–03–22–02–04–01–11–10–20–20–5–3–21–32–31–32–0
Sacramento 1–11–11–12–01–12–22–21–15–01–30–24–12–32–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–42–3–0–43–20–41–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–11–12–03–24–12–03–15–10–24–03–12–02–05–02–01–11–12–02–23–14–0–2–23–22–0
Seattle 2–01–10–22–02–04–03–12–04–14–01–15–01–42–02–04–01–12–02–02–01–43–22–32–2–1–32–0
Utah 2–02–00–22–01–14–24–12–02–23–22–03–12–22–02–04–12–02–01–12–02–23–14–02–33–1–2–0
Washington 0–41–31–32–21–31–10–21–30–20–21–32–00–21–41–31–13–20–42–32–30–20–21–10–20–20–2—

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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
January: 5–10 (Home: 4–3; Road: 1–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
All-Star Break
March: 10–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 6–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
April: 7–5 (Home: 3–4; Road: 4–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
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:[8]

Awards, records, and honors

Transactions

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:[13]

References
  1. 1994-95 Denver Nuggets
  2. "NUGGETS SIGN ELLIS". Orlando Sentinel. October 5, 1994. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  3. "Nuggets' Ellis Lost For Season With Knee Injury". Chicgao Tribune. November 21, 1994. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  4. "1994–95 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. "Remembering Robert Pack, a Bullet flash in the pan". Bullets Forever. August 4, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  6. "PRO BASKETBALL; As Regular Season Ends, Denver's Season Lives On". New York Times. April 24, 1995. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  7. "1995 NBA All-Star Game: West 139, East 112". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  8. "1994–95 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  9. "Spurs 99, Nuggets 95". UPI Archives. May 3, 1995. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  10. "PRO BASKETBALL; Underclassmen Rule Atop N.B.A. Draft Board". New York Times. June 29, 1995. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  11. "PRO BASKETBALL; The Bullets Pick Up Pack". New York Times. October 31, 1995. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  12. 1994-95 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  13. "1994–95 Denver Nuggets Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
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