The 1994β95 NBA season was the Nuggets' 19th season in the
National Basketball Association, and 28th season as a franchise.[1] The Nuggets had the thirteenth overall pick in the
1994 NBA draft, and selected
Jalen Rose from the
University of Michigan,[2][3][4][5][6] and signed free agent
Dale Ellis during the off-season.[7][8][9] Coming off their improbable playoff run, the Nuggets were bitten by the injury bug, losing
LaPhonso Ellis for all but the final six games of the season due to a knee injury from an off-season pickup game.[10][11][12] Without their star forward, second-year forward
Rodney Rogers became the team's starting power forward, while the Nuggets also replaced scoring leader
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf as the team's starting point guard with
Robert Pack, as the team won five of their first six games. However, head coach
Dan Issel resigned with the team holding an 18β16 record.[13][14] Under his assistant
Gene Littles, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager
Bernie Bickerstaff.[15][16][17] The team was out of playoff position with a 20β26 record at the All-Star break.[18]
Pack would come down with a knee injury in February, as Abdul-Rauf returned to the lineup; Pack would return during the final month of the season in April, but would then re-injure his knee after only playing just 42 games, starting in 32 of them, averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.[19][20] Under Bickerstaff, the Nuggets would recover making a late push winning 20 of their final 32 games. On the final day of the regular season, they faced the
Sacramento Kings as both teams were fighting for the #8 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets would defeat the Kings, 102β89 at
McNichols Sports Arena to enter the playoffs, finishing fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41β41 record.[21][22][23][24]
Dikembe Mutombo captured his first Defensive Player of the Year award,[25][26][27] averaging 11.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and selected for the
1995 NBA All-Star Game.[28][29][30][31] In addition, Abdul-Rauf led the team in scoring averaging 16.0 points per game, while
Reggie Williams provided the team with 13.4 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Rogers contributed 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Dale Ellis played a sixth man role, averaging 11.3 points off the bench, while
Bryant Stith contributed 11.2 points per game, Rose provided with 8.2 points and 4.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and
Brian Williams averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench.[32]
However, in the Western Conference First Round of the
playoffs, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as they were swept by the
San Antonio Spurs in three straight games.[33][34][35][36] This would also be the Nuggets' final playoff appearance until
2004. Following the season, Rogers and Williams were both traded to the
Los Angeles Clippers,[37][38][39] and Pack was dealt to the
Washington Bullets.[40][41][42]
The 1994β95 NBA season was the Nuggets' 19th season in the
National Basketball Association, and 28th season as a franchise.[1] The Nuggets had the thirteenth overall pick in the
1994 NBA draft, and selected
Jalen Rose from the
University of Michigan,[2][3][4][5][6] and signed free agent
Dale Ellis during the off-season.[7][8][9] Coming off their improbable playoff run, the Nuggets were bitten by the injury bug, losing
LaPhonso Ellis for all but the final six games of the season due to a knee injury from an off-season pickup game.[10][11][12] Without their star forward, second-year forward
Rodney Rogers became the team's starting power forward, while the Nuggets also replaced scoring leader
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf as the team's starting point guard with
Robert Pack, as the team won five of their first six games. However, head coach
Dan Issel resigned with the team holding an 18β16 record.[13][14] Under his assistant
Gene Littles, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager
Bernie Bickerstaff.[15][16][17] The team was out of playoff position with a 20β26 record at the All-Star break.[18]
Pack would come down with a knee injury in February, as Abdul-Rauf returned to the lineup; Pack would return during the final month of the season in April, but would then re-injure his knee after only playing just 42 games, starting in 32 of them, averaging 12.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.[19][20] Under Bickerstaff, the Nuggets would recover making a late push winning 20 of their final 32 games. On the final day of the regular season, they faced the
Sacramento Kings as both teams were fighting for the #8 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets would defeat the Kings, 102β89 at
McNichols Sports Arena to enter the playoffs, finishing fourth in the Midwest Division with a 41β41 record.[21][22][23][24]
Dikembe Mutombo captured his first Defensive Player of the Year award,[25][26][27] averaging 11.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and selected for the
1995 NBA All-Star Game.[28][29][30][31] In addition, Abdul-Rauf led the team in scoring averaging 16.0 points per game, while
Reggie Williams provided the team with 13.4 points and 1.5 steals per game, and Rogers contributed 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Dale Ellis played a sixth man role, averaging 11.3 points off the bench, while
Bryant Stith contributed 11.2 points per game, Rose provided with 8.2 points and 4.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and
Brian Williams averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game off the bench.[32]
However, in the Western Conference First Round of the
playoffs, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as they were swept by the
San Antonio Spurs in three straight games.[33][34][35][36] This would also be the Nuggets' final playoff appearance until
2004. Following the season, Rogers and Williams were both traded to the
Los Angeles Clippers,[37][38][39] and Pack was dealt to the
Washington Bullets.[40][41][42]