Around the imposing Dikembe Mutombo, the Nuggets built a solid team in the mid-'90s. In fact, in
1994 they came one game away from making it to the Western Conference Finals.
Mutombo minimized the interior game of opponents -- his 1,486 career blocks tops Denver's career list
by a long shot.
And the Nuggets had a solid backcourt in streaky-shooting Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Bryant Stith,
who still played for the Nuggets as the decade ended.
Swingman Reggie Williams could also light it up on the offensive end, and forward Laphonso Ellis
was the tough, physical complement to Mt. Mutombo.
Power forward Antonio McDyess was the only guy on the decade team not to be on those mid-90s
teams that made two appearances in the postseason and came close to beating the Utah Jazz to move into
the West Finals.
McDyess left town briefly and played for the Phoenix Suns in the 1997-98 season, but liked
Denver so much that he returned the next year for less money as a free agent.
| All-'90s Team |
| Pos. |
Player |
Years |
Comment |
| PG |
Mahmoud A. Rauf |
1990-96 |
Not big fan of Star Spangled Banner, but he could shoot. |
| SG |
Bryant Stith |
1992-99 |
Nuggets most consistent player of the decade. |
| SF |
Laphonso Ellis |
1992-98 |
A tough customer when he was healthy. |
| PF |
Antonio McDyess |
1995-97, 98-99 |
One of best young forwards in league. |
| C |
Dikembe Mutombo |
1991-96 |
NBA's most dominant interior defender in the '90s. |
| 6th Man |
Reggie Williams |
1990-96 |
Athletic swingman could score off dribble, hit outside jumpers. |
| Coach |
Dan Issel |
1992-95 |
Led team to monumental upset of Sonics in playoffs in '94. |
Memorable moment
After the 98-94 overtime victory over the Sonics in Game 5 of the first round in the 1994 playoffs, center Dikembe Mutombo fell to the floor in an outburst of emotions that surely will be an image frozen in time for Nuggets fans -- and a nightmare Sonics fans won't be able to shake.
Best team: 1993-94 club
The Nuggets became the first No. 8 team to defeat a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, upturning the Seattle SuperSonics with a dramatic Game 5 victory in the first round of the '94 playoffs.
Denver went on to press Utah in the West semifinals before finally being ousted, 4-3. It also was the second and last winning regular season of the '90s for the Nuggets.
Worst team: 1997-98
The 11-71 finish was the worst ever for the franchise. How bad were things? Journeyman Johnny Newman led the team in scoring (14.7 ppg).
| Year by Year |
| Season |
Record |
Postseason |
| 1989-90 |
43-39 |
Lost to San Antonio in first round, 3-0 |
| 1990-91 |
20-62 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1991-92 |
24-58 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1992-93 |
36-46 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1993-94 |
42-40 |
Lost to Utah in second round, 4-3 |
| 1994-95 |
41-41 |
Lost to San Antonio in first round, 3-0 |
| 1995-96 |
35-47 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1996-97 |
21-61 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1997-98 |
11-71 |
Did not make postseason |
| 1998-99 |
14-36 |
Did not make postseason |