1999–2000 Denver Nuggets season

The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Nuggets' 24th season in the National Basketball Association, and 33rd season as a franchise.^[1] It was also their first season playing at the Pepsi Center.^[2] The Nuggets had the 18th overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, and selected James Posey out of Xavier University.^[3][4][5][6] During the off-season, the team acquired Ron Mercer and Popeye Jones from the Boston Celtics,^{[7][8][9][10]} and signed free agent George McCloud.^[11][9][12] With Dan Issel back as head coach,^[13][14] the Nuggets had a solid nucleus of second-year star Raef LaFrentz, Antonio McDyess and Nick Van Exel with a 17–15 record to start the season.^[15] However, the Nuggets would struggle and slip below .500, holding a 21–27 record at the All-Star break.^[16]

At the trade deadline, Mercer was dealt along with Chauncey Billups, who only played just 13 games due to a sprained ankle and a shoulder injury,^[17][18][19] and Johnny Taylor to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Chris Gatling.^{[20][21][22][23]} However, Billups never played for the Magic, because of his shoulder injury.^[24][25] The Nuggets went on a 7-game losing streak in March, as Bryant Stith only played just 45 games due to a leg injury.^[26] The team managed to win their final four games, and finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 35–47 record.^[27]

McDyess averaged 19.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, while Van Exel averaged 16.1 points and 9.0 assists per game, and LaFrentz provided the team with 12.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. In addition, McCloud contributed 10.1 points per game off the bench, while second-year center Keon Clark averaged 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and Posey provided with 8.2 points per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.^[28]

Following the season, Stith and rookie guard Chris Herren were both traded to the Boston Celtics,^[29][30][31] while Gatling was traded back to his former team, the Miami Heat, who then sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade,^[32][33][34] Jones was dealt to the Washington Wizards,^[35] and Cory Alexander signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	18	James Posey	SF	United States	Xavier (OH)
2	33	Chris Herren	PG	United States	Fresno State
2	41	Francisco Elson	C	Netherlands	California

Roster

1999–2000 Denver Nuggets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 9 Abdul-Wahad, Tariq  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1974–11–03 San José State G 7 Alexander, Cory 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1973–06–22 Virginia G/F 42 Bowen, Ryan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975–11–20 Iowa F/C 15 Clark, Keon 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975–04–16 UNLV F/C 32 Gatling, Chris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–09–03 Old Dominion G 8 Herren, Chris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 197 lb (89 kg) 1975–09–27 Fresno State F 54 Jones, Popeye 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–06–17 Murray State C 45 LaFrentz, Raef 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1976–05–29 Kansas G/F 21 McCloud, George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1967–05–27 Florida State F 24 McDyess, Antonio (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1974–09–07 Alabama G/F 41 Posey, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1977–01–13 Xavier F/C 25 Rogers, Roy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1973–08–19 Alabama G 23 Stith, Bryant  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1970–12–10 Virginia G 31 Van Exel, Nick (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1971–11–27 Cincinnati

Head coach Dan Issel Assistant coach(es) Louie Dampier Mike Evans Kim Hughes John Lucas Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: {{{access-date}}}

Regular season

Season standings

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Player Statistics Citation:^[28]

Awards and records

• James Posey, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions

References

This page was last edited on 27 August 2023, at 20:51