1993–94 Denver Nuggets season

1993–94 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Dan Issel
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Sports Rocky Mountain, KTVD
Radio	KOA

The 1993-94 NBA season was the Nuggets' 18th season in the NBA and 27th season as a franchise. The Nuggets posted a 42-40 record and made the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. The Nuggets qualified for the playoffs as the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

The first round saw the Nuggets matched up with the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics had posted a league best 63-19 record. The Nuggets lost the first two games of the series. Upon arriving in Denver, the Nuggets used the shot blocking presence of Dikembe Mutombo to match up with the Sonics. Along with career performances by Reggie Williams, Brian Williams, and Robert Pack, the Nuggets evened the series. The series went back to Seattle for the 5th game. The Nuggets rallied to tie the game and force overtime. The Nuggets would emerge with a 4-point victory and became the first 8th seeded team to beat a # 1 seed. To punctuate the win, Mutombo was on his back holding the ball and smiling after the buzzer.

In the second round, the Nuggets dropped their first 3 games to the Utah Jazz. Despite the threat of elimination, the Nuggets would rally to win the next 3 games and force a 7th game. The postseason run would end as they lost 91-81.

Draft picks

Main article: 1993 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	9	Rodney Rogers	SF/PF	United States	Wake Forest
2	43	Josh Grant	F	United States	Utah

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 3 Abdul-Rauf, Mahmoud 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) LSU PF 43 Brooks, Kevin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Louisiana–Lafayette PF 20 Ellis, LaPhonso 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Notre Dame PF 21 Hammonds, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Georgia Tech SG 4 Mee, Darnell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Western Kentucky C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown SG 14 Pack, Robert 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Southern California PF 42 Randall, Mark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Kansas SF 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wake Forest SG 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Virginia C 8 Williams, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona SF 34 Williams, Reggie (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown	Head coach Dan Issel Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Dikembe Mutombo	Brian Williams
PF	LaPhonso Ellis	Tom Hammonds	Mark Randall
SF	Reggie Williams	Rodney Rogers	Kevin Brooks
SG	Bryant Stith	Darnell Mee
PG	Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf	Robert Pack

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Houston Rockets	58	24	.707	—	35–6	23–18	15–11
x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	3	32–9	23–18	16–10
x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	5	33–8	20–21	21–5
x- Denver Nuggets	42	40	.512	16	28–13	14–27	14–12
Minnesota Timberwolves	20	62	.244	38	13–28	7–34	5–21
Dallas Mavericks	13	69	.159	45	6–35	7–34	7–19

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Seattle SuperSonics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	58	24	.707	5
3	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	7
4	x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	10
6	x- Golden State Warriors	50	32	.610	13
7	x-Portland Trail Blazers	47	35	.573	16
8	x-Denver Nuggets	42	40	.512	21
9	Los Angeles Lakers	33	49	.402	30
10	Sacramento Kings	28	54	.341	35
11	Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	36
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	20	62	.244	43
13	Dallas Mavericks	13	69	.159	50

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Nuggets points	Opponents	Record	Streak	Notes
1

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (8) Denver Nuggets: Nuggets win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle (April 28): Seattle 106, Denver 82
• Game 2 @ Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle (April 30): Seattle 97, Denver 87
• Game 3 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 2): Denver 110, Seattle 93
• Game 4 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 5): Denver 94, Seattle 85 (OT)
• Game 5 @ Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle (May 7): Denver 98, Seattle 94 (OT)

Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Western Conference First Round (Denver won 3-2)

West Conference Semifinals

(5) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Denver Nuggets: Jazz win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 10): Utah 100, Denver 91
• Game 2 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 12): Utah 104, Denver 94
• Game 3 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 14): Utah 111, Denver 109 (OT)
• Game 4 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 15): Denver 83, Utah 82
• Game 5 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 17): Denver 109, Utah 101 (2OT)
• Game 6 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 19): Denver 94, Utah 91
• Game 7 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 21): Utah 91, Denver 81

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Western Conference Semifinals (Denver won 4-1)

Player statistics

Legend
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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

References

• Nuggets on Basketball Reference