1976–77 Denver Nuggets season

The 1976–77 Denver Nuggets season, is the Nuggets first season in the NBA, after nine seasons in the ABA.

1976–77 Denver Nuggets season
Division champions
Head coach	Larry Brown
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Conference semifinals (lost to Trail Blazers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KWGN-TV
Radio	KOA
< 1975–76 1977–78 >

In their NBA playoffs debut, the Nuggets lost to the eventual NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the First Round.

Offseason

ABA-NBA merger

With the conclusion of the 1975–76 season, the American Basketball Association came to an end with the ABA-NBA merger. Four ABA teams entered the NBA: the Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. The other ABA teams were folded prior to the merger except for the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, both of which were folded as part of the league merger.

The Nuggets and the other ABA teams were given harsh obstacles as part of their entry to the NBA. Each team had to pay an entry fee; for the Nuggets it was $3.2 million.^[1] The Denver and the other four ABA team also received no television money for their first three NBA seasons in the NBA, were not allowed to participate in the 1976 NBA draft, had to be classified as "expansion franchises" (despite longer histories and more success than many NBA teams) and had to go for two years without any vote regarding the distribution of NBA gate receipts or the realignment of NBA divisions.^[2]

The Nuggets moved from the ABA to the NBA's Midwest Division.^[3]

NBA draft

Main article: 1976 NBA draft

As part of the terms of the ABA-NBA merger the Nuggets were prohibited from participating in both the 1976 NBA draft of college players and in the dispersal draft of ABA players from teams that did not enter the NBA.

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster v t e
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From PF 40 Beck, Byron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1945-01-25 Denver PG 20 Calvin, Mack 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1947-07-27 USC C 44 Issel, Dan (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1948-10-25 Kentucky PF 24 Jones, Bobby 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1951-12-18 North Carolina SG 12 McClain, Ted 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1946-08-30 Tennessee State PF 35 Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943-07-12 Creighton PG 21 Taylor, Fatty 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-03-13 La Salle SG 33 Thompson, David (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1954-07-13 NC State C 10 Webster, Marvin 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952-04-13 Morgan State SF 42 Wise, Willie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947-03-03 Drake	Head coach Larry Brown Assistant coach(es) Frank Hamblen Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	50	32	.610	–	36–5	14–27	15–5
x-Detroit Pistons	44	38	.537	6	30–11	14–27	12–8
x-Chicago Bulls	44	38	.537	6	31–10	13–28	10–10
Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	10	28–13	12–29	7–13
Indiana Pacers	36	46	.439	14	25–16	11–30	9–11
Milwaukee Bucks	30	52	.366	20	24–17	6–35	7–13

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	53	29	.646	–
2	y-Denver Nuggets	50	32	.610	3
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	4
4	x-Golden State Warriors	46	36	.561	7
5	x-Detroit Pistons	44	38	.537	9
6	x-Chicago Bulls	44	38	.537	9
7	Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	13
8	Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	13
9	Indiana Pacers	36	46	.439	17
10	Phoenix Suns	34	48	.415	19
11	Milwaukee Bucks	30	52	.366	23

Record vs. opponents

1976–77 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	NYN	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	4–0	1–2	1–3
Boston	4–0	—	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–2	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–4
Buffalo	0–4	1–3	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–3	1–3	1–3	0–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–4
Chicago	2–2	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	1–2
Cleveland	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	3–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3
Denver	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	3–0	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–2	4–0	2–2
Detroit	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–3
Golden State	4–0	3–1	3–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1
Houston	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	0–3	2–2	1–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1
Indiana	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4
Kansas City	2–1	1–3	3–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2
Los Angeles	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	—	3–1	3–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	4–0
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	1–2	1–3	3–1	1–2	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3
New Orleans	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	2–1	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2
N.Y. Knicks	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–2	2–2
N.Y. Nets	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–3	1–3	1–3
Philadelphia	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–1	4–0	3–1	3–1	—	1–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	3–1
Phoenix	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–1	—	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–3
Portland	1–3	3–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	3–0	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	3–1	1–2
San Antonio	0–4	0–4	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2
Seattle	2–1	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	—	3–1
Washington	3–1	4–0	4–0	2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–3	—

Playoffs

1977 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 20 Portland L 100–101 Dan Issel (28) Paul Silas (11) Ted McClain (5) McNichols Sports Arena 17,995 0–1 2 April 23 Portland W 121–110 Dan Issel (36) Paul Silas (9) Jones, McClain (7) McNichols Sports Arena 17,975 1–1 3 April 24 @ Portland L 106–110 David Thompson (40) Jones, Issel (9) Bobby Jones (5) Memorial Coliseum 12,736 1–2 4 April 26 @ Portland L 96–105 Mack Calvin (28) Jones, Silas (8) Paul Silas (4) Memorial Coliseum 12,930 1–3 5 May 1 Portland W 114–105 (OT) David Thompson (31) Dan Issel (18) Jim Price (11) McNichols Sports Arena 17,517 2–3 6 May 2 @ Portland L 92–108 David Thompson (17) Marvin Webster (16) Ted McClain (7) Memorial Coliseum 12,924 2–4
1977 schedule

Awards, records, and honors

• David Thompson, All-NBA First Team
• Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References

1. Remember the ABA: Denver Rockets/Nuggets Year-to-Year Rosters
2. Remember the ABA: Denver Rockets/Nuggets Year-by-Year Notes 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
3. Remember the ABA: Denver Nuggets

• Nuggets on Basketball Reference