A dash of Denver dots basketball's solar system

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is enough.” 

— Dr. Wess Stafford

25 years ago, when the National Basketball Association celebrated their 50th Anniversary, they named the NBA’s “Top 50 at 50” list. The list was filled with luminaries from across a star-studded history, with the requisite arguments and gnashing of teeth ensuing over who was left off a list that could fully satisfy no one. To no one’s surprise, a few of the league’s marquee franchises were exceptionally well represented, while a few others were left… well, wanting.

It’s a good thing that we at high altitude know how to hold our breath for a little while. Amazingly and yet unsurprisingly, not a single Denver Nuggets player made the list of 50. Not just Nuggets stars. Even guys who had passed through at the beginnings or ends of their career. According to the voters, Denver had never seen a Top 50 guy pass through, no matter how much Alex English, Dan Issel, David Thompson, or anyone else might have argued the topic. Denver would have to wait another 25 years to see if they might actually catch such a shooting star, maybe even one who was more of a meteorite bouncing off the atmosphere by the time he saw a Nuggets uniform. It’s a good thing we didn’t hold our breath, Nuggets faithful would certainly be Nuggets blue.

Thursday, the NBA released it’s 75 best players over the last 75 years – actually 76, because of a voting tie – and the list included…

The complete NBA 75th Anniversary Team ⬇️ #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/v8Tz5ixaab

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 21, 2021

Oh, I’m sorry… Are you also finding that hard to read? Let me try it alphabetically…

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  Ray Allen
  Giannis Antetokounmpo
  Carmelo Anthony
  Nate Archibald
  Paul Arizin
• Charles Barkley
  Rick Barry
  Elgin Baylor
  Dave Bing
  Larry Bird
  Kobe Bryant
• Wilt Chamberlain
  Bob Cousy
  Dave Cowens
  Billy Cunningham
  Stephen Curry
• Anthony Davis
  Dave DeBusschere
  Clyde Drexler
  Tim Duncan
  Kevin Durant
• Julius Erving
  Patrick Ewing
• Walt Frazier
• Kevin Garnett
  George Gervin
  Hal Greer
• James Harden
  John Havlicek
  Elvin Hayes
• Allen Iverson
• LeBron James
  Magic Johnson
  Sam Jones
  Michael Jordan
• Jason Kidd
• Kawhi Leonard
  Damian Lillard
  Jerry Lucas
• Karl Malone
  Moses Malone
  Pete Maravich
  Bob McAdoo
  Kevin McHale
  George Mikan
  Reggie Miller
  Earl Monroe
• Steve Nash
  Dirk Nowitzki
• Shaquille O’Neal
  Hakeem Olajuwon
• Robert Parish
  Chris Paul
  Gary Payton
  Bob Pettit
  Paul Pierce
  Scottie Pippen
• Willis Reed
  Oscar Robertson
  David Robinson
  Dennis Rodman
  Bill Russell
• Dolph Schayes
  Bill Sharman
  John Stockton
• Isiah Thomas
  Nate Thurmond
• Wes Unseld
• Dwyane Wade
  Bill Walton
  Jerry West
  Russell Westbrook
  Lenny Wilkens
  Dominique Wilkins
  James Worthy

A little easier, anyway… Before you go digging for how many former Denver Nuggets are on the list, it’s a short search, and there are two, in bold. How many former Celtics or Lakers are on the list? Well… The answer probably won’t surprise you.

Now, that list is a little skewed, to be sure. Players like Moses Malone and Shaquille O’Neal place tick marks in several teams over the course of their career. Short stints like Bob Cousy’s seven games with the someday-Sacramento Kings – after six years of retirement – those are in there too. Just because Michael Jordan played with the Washington Wizards doesn’t mean anyone will ever confuse that as the “best ever” part of his career. But overall, it’s a telling indicator of where the league’s talent pool has gravitated over the 75 years of its existence. Denver finds itself in the bottom six of that list, with a few easier answers sitting around them.

A few observations:

• Poor Charlotte. 32 seasons in the NBA, and not a one of these names has crossed your threshold. Hopefully the next 25 will be a bit kinder.
• Even a little more shocked about Indiana. To come into the league during the same ABA/NBA merger as Denver and only have Reggie Miller to show for it over 50+ seasons must be a pain in the peony for the basketball-mad Hoosier State.
• That list of rings through the bottom half looks like binary code. All zeroes and ones.
• I know, I know. I basically showed that championship winners have the most respected, remembered, and decorated players. Shocker, I’m aware. Soon I’ll be providing evidence that the earth, like a basketball, is round. None of that may matter, as Kyrie does not read this space weekly.
• Only 27 seasons for the Memphis Grizzlies. Same for the Raptors. 33 for the Timberwolves. The 46 Denver has spent in the NBA, after nine ABA campaigns, still left them woefully short in hosting the star power that transcended their era. A short stint with a slowly declining Allen Iverson, and seven-plus seasons of Carmelo Anthony’s best years are the Nuggets’ sole residents of 75 NBA Lane.

Make no mistake, Anthony and Iverson both deserve slots on the board, as Anthony’s 104-plus career win-shares would have made him the all-time best in Nuggets history, had he earned them all at his first home. He and Iverson have each made their career mark, and at least spent some meaningful time at altitude. But AI was always going into the Hall of fame as a 76er, and Melo will probably prefer to be remembered as a Knick. Denver has not had many to call their own.

So to leave off an eight-time All-Star who scored more points than anyone else during the 80’s in English or Denver’s first MVP, Nikola Jokic, is a tough pill for the Nuggets fanbase to swallow. While Jokic’s body of work is still young and will likely eventually qualify him for the “100 at 100” class, English will probably fall further into the murky waters of another 25 years of greats piling on above him. Maybe Alex will slide in to the 101st spot due to a voting tie. Don’t hold your breath.

As a fan and fanbase, if you’re one of the perennial championship hopefuls who see themselves at the top of yet another list, you are rich beyond measure in basketball parlance. The fanbases like Denver, who are fighting for the table scraps at the bottom of those lists, are more than a little hungry. They don’t need an embarrassment of riches. Only to feel like they have also gotten enough. Because enough is enough.

The Nuggets are now ever-so-slightly dotting the NBA’s solar system, Nuggets Nation. We may not have a full-on constellation just yet, but we’re building. We’re at least lucky to have current-superstar-and-hopefully-always-a-Nugget Jokic currently at his apex in our midst. Right now. Don’t miss it.  The Pacers are still waiting for another Reggie Miller to pass them by.