1995–96 Denver Nuggets season

The 1995–96 Denver Nuggets season was the 20th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season as a franchise. The Nuggets had the 15th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Brent Barry out of Oregon State University, but soon traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for rookie power forward, and top draft pick Antonio McDyess from the University of Alabama, and acquired Don MacLean and Doug Overton from the Washington Bullets during the off-season.

Despite the addition of McDyess and MacLean, the Nuggets struggled by losing eight of their first nine games of the regular season, as LaPhonso Ellis missed the first 37 games due to a knee injury. Despite the slow start, the Nuggets soon recovered and won eight of their next nine games, leading to a 9–9 start to the season. However, the team soon fell below .500 in winning percentage, later on posting a six-game losing streak in January, and holding a 20–27 record at the All-Star break.

In March, the Nuggets found themselves in the middle of an ugly controversy, as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner, protesting what he felt was the country's poor treatment to Muslims in the world; he was then suspended for one game by the league. After his suspension, Abdul-Rauf agreed to stand and pray during the anthem by closing his eyes, and holding his hands out in front of his face with his head down. However, the damage was done, and his reputation could not be repaired, as he was the consistent target of boos from fans, before missing the remainder of the season due to ankle, and foot injuries after playing 57 games. The Nuggets finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 35–47 record, and failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs.

Abdul-Rauf led the team with 19.2 points and 6.8 assists per game, and also contributed 121 three-point field goals, while Dale Ellis averaged 14.9 points per game and led the Nuggets with 150 three-point field goals, and McDyess provided the team with 13.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Dikembe Mutombo provided with 11.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game, while Bryant Stith contributed 13.6 points and 1.4 steals per game, MacLean provided with 11.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and LaPhonso Ellis averaged 10.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, second-year guard Jalen Rose contributed 10.0 points and 6.2 assists per game, Tom Hammonds averaged 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and Reggie Williams contributed 4.6 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Mutombo was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team, while McDyess was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team. Mutombo also finished in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Nuggets finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 675,425 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season.

Following the season, Abdul-Rauf was traded to the Sacramento Kings, while Mutombo signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks after five seasons with the Nuggets, Rose and Williams were both dealt to the Indiana Pacers, and MacLean and Overton both signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.