1994–95 Denver Nuggets season

The 1994–95 Denver Nuggets season was the 19th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season as a franchise. The Nuggets had the 13th overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Jalen Rose from the University of Michigan, and signed free agent Dale Ellis during the off-season. 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 regular season due to a knee injury from an off-season pickup game.

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 18–16 record. Under his assistant Gene Littles, the Nuggets struggled losing 13 of their next 16 games as Littles was replaced with General Manager Bernie Bickerstaff. The team was out of playoff position with a 20–26 record at the All-Star break.

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. 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 on April 23, 1995, the Nuggets faced off against the Sacramento Kings, as both teams were fighting for the eighth seed in the Western Conference; the Nuggets would defeat the Kings, 102–89 at the McNichols Sports Arena to qualify for the NBA playoffs, finishing in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 41–41 record.

Dikembe Mutombo averaged 11.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Abdul-Rauf averaged 16.0 points and 3.6 assists 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. Meanwhile, Dale Ellis played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 11.3 points per game and leading the Nuggets with 106 three-point field goals, 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, Brian Williams averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and Tom Hammonds contributed 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Mutombo was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Rose was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Green team. Rogers finished tied in ninth place in Most Improved Player voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets faced off against the top–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by the trio of All-Star center, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, David Robinson, Sean Elliott, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. However, without LaPhonso Ellis and Pack due to season-ending injuries, the Nuggets were unable to repeat their previous playoff run, as the team lost the first two games to the Spurs on the road at the Alamodome, before losing Game 3 at home, 99–95 at the McNichols Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep. This would also be the Nuggets' final NBA playoff appearance until the 2003–04 season, as what would follow was an eight-year playoff drought.

The Nuggets finished tenth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 704,011 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Rogers and Williams were both traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Pack was dealt to the Washington Bullets.