Denver Nuggets (original)

This article is about the original Denver Nuggets NBL/NBA team from 1948-1950. For the current NBA team see Denver Nuggets.

<p align="justify">The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado, The United States of America. The Nuggets joined the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948-49 season, and then joined the National Basketball Association when the NBL and Basketball Association of America merged to create the NBA for the 1949-50 season. The Nuggets were the first major professional sports franchise in Colorado, and the first NBA franchise west of the Mississippi.

Team Record

|-|colspan="6" | Denver Nuggets|-|1948-49 || 18 || 44 || .290 || |||-|1949-50 || 11 || 51 || .177 || |||-

Nuggets NBA Roster

1949-50 Denver Nuggets

Nuggets History

<p align="justify">The Denver Nuggets trace their roots back to 1938 when the original amateur Nuggets were formed as a member of the Amateur Athletic Union. Led by player/coach "Jumping Jack" McCracken, the Nuggets were one of the most powerful amateur athletic basketball teams in the country, winning the 1939 AAU championship and losing the 1940 championship to the Phillips 66ers of Oklahoma. Not playing professionally, its players were given extra jobs by team sponsors, and they played on the stage of the Auditorium Arena (now Ellie Caulkins Opera House). Featuring stars such as McCracken, Robert Ace Gruenig and Vince Boryla, the...
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