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The ABA years: the Denver Nuggets story
Franchise era
1967–68—1975–76
The ABA years
Denver Nuggets
The story in one sentence
Denver embraced a new Nuggets identity and entered the NBA after reaching the ABA Finals with a spectacular young core.
From Rockets to Nuggets and a final Finals run
David Thompson, Dan Issel and Bobby Jones gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for doug moe's motion machine.
Timeline
How it unfolded
The foundation
The franchise context
Denver's basketball identity has always favored creativity and altitude-powered offense, from the ABA and Doug Moe's track meets to Nikola Jokić's championship orchestration.
1967–68—1975–76
The ABA years
Denver embraced a new Nuggets identity and entered the NBA after reaching the ABA Finals with a spectacular young core.
After 1975–76
What came next
English led a free-flowing offense that made nine straight playoffs and reached the 1985 conference finals.
The core