1992–93 Denver Nuggets season

1992–93 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach	Dan Issel
Arena	McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record	36–46 (.439)
Place	Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 11th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Local media
Television	Prime Sports Rocky Mountain, KTVD
Radio	KOA

The 1992-93 NBA season was the Nuggets' 17th season in the NBA and 26th season as a franchise. The Nuggets would bring back Dan Issel as their new head coach. Issel starred for the Nuggets for 10 seasons as a player. Under Issel, the Nuggets suffered a 14-game losing streak from December 5th to January 5th. Despite the losing streak the Nuggets showed significant improvement and missed the playoffs by just 3 games with a record of 36-46. The progress of Dikembe Mutombo into one of the league's best defensive players was reason for hope. The play of guard Chris Jackson resulted in being named the league's Most Improved Player. Following the season, Jackson would change his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

NBA Draft

Main article: 1992 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	5	LaPhonso Ellis	PF	United States	Notre Dame
1	13	Bryant Stith	SG	United States	Virginia
2	46	Robert Werdann	C	United States	St. John's

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From PG 3 Abdul-Rauf, Mahmoud 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 162 lb (73 kg) LSU SF 43 Brooks, Kevin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Louisiana 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 C 10 Hastings, Scott 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arkansas SF 30 Liberty, Marcus 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Illinois SG 21 Lichti, Todd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Stanford SG 1 Macon, Mark 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Temple C 55 Mutombo, Dikembe 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown PG 12 Pack, Robert 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) USC PF 45 Plummer, Gary 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Boston University SG 23 Stith, Bryant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Virginia C 28 Werdann, Robert 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) St. John's SF 34 Williams, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Georgetown

Head coach Dan Issel Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Houston Rockets	55	27	.671	—	31–10	24–17	19–7
x-San Antonio Spurs	49	33	.598	6	31–10	18–23	17–9
x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	8	28–13	19–22	16–10
Denver Nuggets	36	46	.439	19	28–13	8–33	13–13
Minnesota Timberwolves	19	63	.232	36	11–30	8–33	10–16
Dallas Mavericks	11	71	.134	44	7–34	4–37	3–23

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	55	27	.671	7
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	51	31	.622	11
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	49	33	.598	13
6	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	15
7	x-Los Angeles Clippers	41	41	.500	21
8	x-Los Angeles Lakers	39	43	.476	23
9	Denver Nuggets	36	46	.439	26
10	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28
11	Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	37
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	19	63	.232	43
13	Dallas Mavericks	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

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

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

Awards, records, and honors

• Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, NBA Most Improved Player Award
• LaPhonso Ellis, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team