1988–89 Denver Nuggets season

The 1988–89 Denver Nuggets season was the 13th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 22nd season as a franchise.^[1] The Nuggets had the 23rd overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected power forward Jerome Lane from the University of Pittsburgh.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agents, All-Star guard Walter Davis,^[5][6][7] and Elston Turner.

With the addition of Davis and Turner, the Nuggets got off to an 11–4 start to the regular season, but then lost 16 of their next 25 games, and later on held a 25–23 record at the All-Star break.^[8] At mid-season, the team traded Jay Vincent, and Calvin Natt to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Dave Greenwood, and Darwin Cook.^[9][10][11] Despite losing six of their final eight games of the season, the Nuggets finished in third place in the Midwest Division with a 44–38 record, and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference;^[12] the team also posted a very successful 35–6 home record at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season,^[13][14] and qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.^[1]

Alex English averaged 26.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, while Fat Lever averaged 19.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and Michael Adams provided the team with 18.5 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game, and also led the league with 166 three-point field goals. In addition, Davis played a sixth man role off the bench, and contributed 15.6 points per game, while Danny Schayes provided with 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, Blair Rasmussen contributed 7.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and Wayne Cooper averaged 6.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Bill Hanzlik contributed 4.9 points per game, but only played just 41 games due to a back injury,^[15][16] and Turner provided with 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.^[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, English was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his final All-Star appearance.^[18][19][20] Meanwhile, Adams participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[21][22] Lever finished tied in seventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[23]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets faced off against the 3rd–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Tom Chambers, Sixth Man of the Year, Eddie Johnson, and second-year star, and Most Improved Player of the Year, Kevin Johnson. However, due to injuries to Lever (thigh bruise), Adams (hamstring), and Schayes (sprained ankle),^[24][25][26] the Nuggets lost the first two games to the Suns on the road at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, before losing Game 3 at home, 130–121 at the McNichols Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.^[27][28][29]

The Nuggets finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 527,337 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season.^[17][30] Following the season, Cooper signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers,^[31][32][33] and Turner, Greenwood and Cook were all released to free agency.