2017–18 Denver Nuggets season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2017–18 Denver Nuggets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On June 15, 2017, the Nuggets officially promoted both Artūras Karnišovas and Tim Connelly to become the team's newest general manager and president of basketball operations respectively.[1][2] On December 2, 2017, the Nuggets would retire Fat Lever's number during their 115–100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite compiling their first winning season since 2013, they missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a win-or-go-home situation in the regular season finale, also ending the Timberwolves' 14-year playoff drought.
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| 2017–18 Denver Nuggets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Michael Malone |
| President | Tim Connelly |
| General manager | Artūras Karnišovas |
| Owners | Ann Walton Kroenke |
| Arena | Pepsi Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 46–36 (.561) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Northwest) Conference: 9th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Altitude Sports and Entertainment |
| Radio | KKSE |
As of the 2025 season, this remains the last season they didn't make the playoffs.
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Donovan Mitchell | SG |  United States |
Louisville |
| 2 | 49 | Vlatko Čančar | SF |  Slovenia |
KK Mega Leks |
| 2 | 51 | Monté Morris | PG | United States |
Iowa State |
The Nuggets entered the draft with one first-round selection and two second-round selection, which were acquired via trade. They had traded their 2019 second-round pick to the Houston Rockets back in 2015. They used their 13th pick to draft future All-Star Donovan Mitchell, but soon traded his rights to the Utah Jazz for Trey Lyles and the rights to the 24th pick Tyler Lydon.
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Portland Trail Blazers | 49 | 33 | .598 | – | 28–13 | 21–20 | 9–7 | 82 |
| x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1.0 | 27–14 | 21–20 | 5–11 | 82 |
| x – Utah Jazz | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1.0 | 28–13 | 20–21 | 7–9 | 82 |
| x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 47 | 35 | .573 | 2.0 | 30–11 | 17–24 | 10–6 | 82 |
| Denver Nuggets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 3.0 | 31–10 | 15–26 | 9–7 | 82 |
Conference
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | z – Houston Rockets * | 65 | 17 | .793 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Golden State Warriors * | 58 | 24 | .707 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 3 | y – Portland Trail Blazers * | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Utah Jazz | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – New Orleans Pelicans | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – San Antonio Spurs | 47 | 35 | .573 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Minnesota Timberwolves | 47 | 35 | .573 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 9 | Denver Nuggets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 19.0 | 82 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 23.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Lakers | 35 | 47 | .427 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 27 | 55 | .329 | 38.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Dallas Mavericks | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Memphis Grizzlies | 22 | 60 | .268 | 43.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Phoenix Suns | 21 | 61 | .256 | 44.0 | 82 |
Game log
Preseason
| 2017 pre-season game log Total: 3–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 3–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season: 3–2 (home: 0–1; road: 3–1)
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| 2017–18 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Player statistics
| 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% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darrell Arthur | 19 | 1 | 7.4 | .468 | .348 | .667 | .8 | .5 | .4 | .2 | 2.8 |
| Will Barton | 81 | 40 | 33.1 | .452 | .370 | .805 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 1.0 | .6 | 15.7 |
| Malik Beasley | 62 | 0 | 9.4 | .410 | .341 | .667 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | .1 | 3.2 |
| Wilson Chandler | 74 | 71 | 31.7 | .445 | .358 | .772 | 5.4 | 2.2 | .6 | .5 | 10.0 |
| Torrey Craig | 39 | 5 | 16.1 | .453 | .293 | .629 | 3.3 | .6 | .3 | .4 | 4.2 |
| Kenneth Faried | 32 | 7 | 14.4 | .514 | .000 | .706 | 4.8 | .6 | .4 | .4 | 5.9 |
| Devin Harrisa | 27 | 0 | 19.7 | .406 | .343 | .845 | 1.6 | 2.5 | .5 | .1 | 8.2 |
| Gary Harris | 67 | 65 | 34.4 | .485 | .396 | .827 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 | .2 | 17.5 |
| Juan Hernangómez | 25 | 3 | 11.1 | .387 | .280 | .833 | 2.2 | .5 | .2 | .1 | 3.3 |
| Richard Jefferson | 20 | 0 | 8.2 | .444 | .286 | .571 | .9 | .8 | .1 | .1 | 1.5 |
| Nikola Jokić | 75 | 73 | 32.6 | .499 | .396 | .850 | 10.7 | 6.1 | 1.2 | .8 | 18.5 |
| Tyler Lydon | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Trey Lyles | 73 | 2 | 19.1 | .491 | .381 | .697 | 4.8 | 1.2 | .4 | .5 | 9.9 |
| Paul Millsap | 38 | 37 | 30.1 | .464 | .345 | .696 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 14.6 |
| Monté Morris | 3 | 0 | 8.3 | .667 | .000 | 1.000 | .7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.3 |
| Emmanuel Mudiaya | 42 | 0 | 17.9 | .401 | .373 | .808 | 2.2 | 2.9 | .5 | .1 | 8.5 |
| Jamal Murray | 81 | 80 | 31.7 | .451 | .378 | .905 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .3 | 16.7 |
| Mason Plumlee | 74 | 26 | 19.4 | .601 | .000 | .456 | 5.4 | 1.9 | .7 | 1.1 | 7.1 |
a Statistics with the Denver Nuggets
Transactions
Trades
| June 22, 2017[3] | To Denver Nuggets Trey Lyles Draft rights to Tyler Lydon (pick 24) |
to Utah Jazz Draft rights to Donovan Mitchell (pick 13) |
| July 6, 2017[4] | To Denver Nuggets 2019 Second Round Pick (from Atlanta) |
To Los Angeles Clippers Danilo Gallinari |
| To Atlanta Hawks Jamal Crawford Diamond Stone 2018 First Round Pick (from Los Angeles) | ||
| February 8, 2018[5] | To Denver Nuggets Devin Harris 2018 Second Round Pick (from Portland via Denver) |
To New York Knicks Emmanuel Mudiay |
| To Dallas Mavericks Doug McDermott 2018 Second Round Pick (from L.A. Clippers via New York) | ||
Contracts
Re-signed
| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Mason Plumlee[6] | September 20, 2017 |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former Team |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Millsap[7] | July 13, 2017 | Atlanta Hawks |
| Torrey Craig[8] | Two-way contract |  Gold Coast Rollers |
| Monté Morris^[9] | Two-way contract | Iowa State Cyclones |
- ^ Team's second-round draft pick this year.
Subtractions
| Player | Reason Left | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Miller[10] | Waived |