1991–92 Denver Nuggets season

The 1991–92 Denver Nuggets season was the 16th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 25th season as a franchise.^[1] The Nuggets received the fourth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected 7' 2" center Dikembe Mutombo out of Georgetown University, and also selected shooting guard Mark Macon out of Temple University with the eighth overall pick, which was acquired from the Washington Bullets via trade;^[2][3][4] Mutombo was a native of Zaire, and spoke nine languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and five African dialects). The team also re-signed former Nuggets guard Walter Davis after a brief stint with the Portland Trail Blazers,^[5][6] and acquired Winston Garland from the Los Angeles Clippers.^[7][8]

With the addition of Mutombo, Macon and Garland, the Nuggets showed improvement playing around .500 in winning percentage with an 8–8 start to the regular season. However, the team soon fell below .500, and later on held a 17–29 record at the All-Star break.^[9] The Nuggets struggled posting a six-game losing streak between January and February, then posted a nine-game losing streak between February and March, and then posted an 11-game losing streak between March and April. The Nuggets lost 29 of their final 36 games of the season after the All-Star break, and finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 24–58 record.^[10][11]

Mutombo averaged 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Reggie Williams averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, and Greg Anderson provided the team with 11.5 points and rebounds per game each. In addition, Macon contributed 10.6 points and 2.0 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Garland provided with 10.8 points, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, second-year guard Chris Jackson contributed 10.3 points and 2.4 assists per game, while second-year forward Marcus Liberty averaged 9.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, Davis provided with 9.9 points per game, Todd Lichti contributed 6.6 points per game, and Joe Wolf averaged 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.^[12]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Mutombo was selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance.^[13][14][15] Mutombo also finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets,^[16][17] while Williams finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[17]

The Nuggets finished 21st in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 534,323 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season.^[12][18] Following the season, Davis retired, while Anderson, Garland and Wolf were all released to free agency, and head coach Paul Westhead was fired.^[19]