Denver Nuggets · Franchise era 5 of 6
Basketball after Melo: the Denver Nuggets story
Franchise era
2011–12—2014–15
Basketball after Melo
Denver Nuggets
The story in one sentence
A deep 57-win team briefly suggested a collective future before injuries forced another reset.
01
Depth before the next centerpiece
02
Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari and Andre Iguodala gave the era its recognizable core.
03
Its ending created the conditions for the jokić revolution.
Timeline
How it unfolded
Before 2011–12
What came before
Anthony ended an eight-year playoff drought immediately, and Billups later helped turn the group into a 2009 conference finalist.
2012
Western Conference First Round: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers
2013
Western Conference First Round: Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors
After 2014–15
What came next
Jokić developed from a second-round curiosity into a multi-time MVP whose passing and efficiency powered Denver's first championship in 2023.
The core