The 1987–88 Denver Nuggets season was the 12th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season as a franchise.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Nuggets acquired Michael Adams, and Jay Vincent from the Washington Bullets, and later on sold second-year guard Otis Smith to the Golden State Warriors.
Regular season With the addition of Adams and Vincent, the Nuggets got off to an 8–4 start to the regular season, and later on held a 26–17 record at the All-Star break. The team posted a 10-game winning streak between March and April, and won 16 of their final 18 games of the season. The Nuggets finished in first place in the Midwest Division with a 54–28 record, and earned the second seed in the Western Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. Head coach Doug Moe was named the NBA Coach of the Year, after leading the Nuggets to a 17-game improvement over the previous season.
Alex English averaged 25.0 points, and 4.7 rebounds and assists per game each, while Fat Lever averaged 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Vincent played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 15.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Adams provided the team with 13.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and also led them with 139 three-point field goals, while Danny Schayes provided with 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and Blair Rasmussen contributed 12.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Calvin Natt averaged 9.6 points per game, but only played just 27 games due to a left knee injury, Wayne Cooper averaged 6.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, but only appeared in just 45 games due to a back injury, Bill Hanzlik provided with 4.5 points per game, and defensive guard T.R. Dunn contributed 2.2 points and 1.2 steals per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, English and Lever were both selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team. Lever finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while English finished in eleventh place, and Adams finished tied in 14th place; Lever also finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and Adams finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.
The Nuggets finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 520,881 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets faced off against the 7th–seeded Seattle SuperSonics, a team that featured the trio of Dale Ellis, All-Star forward Xavier McDaniel, and All-Star forward Tom Chambers. The Nuggets took a 2–1 series lead before losing Game 4 to the SuperSonics on the road, 127–117 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. With the series tied at 2–2, the Nuggets won Game 5 over the SuperSonics at home, 115–96 at the McNichols Sports Arena to win in a hard-fought five-game series.
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Dallas Mavericks, a team that featured the quartet of All-Star forward Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper and All-Star center James Donaldson. The Nuggets won Game 1 over the Mavericks at the McNichols Sports Arena, 126–115, but then lost Game 2 at home, 112–108 as the Mavericks evened the series. The Nuggets won Game 3 over the Mavericks on the road, 107–105 at the Reunion Arena to take a 2–1 series lead. However, the Nuggets lost the next three games, including a Game 6 loss to the Mavericks at the Reunion Arena, 108–95, thus losing the series in six games.
Aftermath Following the season, Dunn signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns during the next season.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 2 31 Andre Moore PF Loyola (IL) 3 54 Tom Schafer Iowa State 4 77 David Boone Marquette 5 100 Ron Grandison New Orleans 6 123 Kelvin Scarborough New Mexico 7 146 Rowan Gomes Hampton 7 156 Curtis Hunter North Carolina
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | November 6 | L.A. Clippers | W 139–93
| McNichols Sports Arena | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | November 7 | @ Golden State | W 103–99
| Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | November 10 | @ Sacramento | L 123–134
| ARCO Arena | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 12 | Portland | W 126–113
| McNichols Sports Arena | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 14 | Sacramento | W 130–109
| McNichols Sports Arena | 4–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | November 17, 19877:30p.m. MST | @ Utah | L 110–120 | Lever (18) | Rasmussen (10) | Lever (7) | Salt Palace11,461 | 4–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | November 18 | Indiana | L 106–117
| McNichols Sports Arena | 4–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 20 | San Antonio | W 156–142
| McNichols Sports Arena | 5–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 21 | @ L.A. Clippers | W 97–91
| Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 6–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 24 | New Jersey | W 132–104
| McNichols Sports Arena | 7–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 27, 19878:30p.m. MST | @ L.A. Lakers | L 119–127 | English (27) | Schayes (14) | Adams,Lever (10) | The Forum17,505 | 7–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 28, 19877:30p.m. MST | Dallas | W 106–98 | English (25) | Schayes (15) | English (7) | McNichols Sports Arena13,400 | 8–4
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 13 | December 1 | @ Houston | L 101–106
| The Summit | 8–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | December 2 | Sacramento | W 147–120
| McNichols Sports Arena | 9–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 4, 19877:30p.m. MST | Chicago | W 105–89 | English (21) | Rasmussen (12) | Adams (7) | McNichols Sports Arena17,022 | 10–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 16 | December 5, 19876:30p.m. MST | @ Dallas | L 96–109 | English,Vincent (16) | English,Lever,Rasmussen (5) | Adams,English,Lever (5) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 10–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | December 9, 19875:30p.m. MST | @ Boston | W 124–119 | Adams (31) | Lever (11) | Lever (13) | Boston Garden14,890 | 11–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | December 10 | @ New York | L 97–113
| Madison Square Garden | 11–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | December 12 | @ Philadelphia | W 131–121
| The Spectrum | 12–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | December 16 | Houston | W 132–113
| McNichols Sports Arena | 13–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 21 | December 18 | @ San Antonio | L 114–133
| HemisFair Arena | 13–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 19 | @ Houston | W 121–117
| The Summit | 14–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | December 22 | Phoenix | W 119–104
| McNichols Sports Arena | 15–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 24 | December 23 | @ Golden State | L 117–129
| Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 15–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 26 | Seattle | W 115–111
| McNichols Sports Arena | 16–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 28 | @ Seattle | L 100–108
| Seattle Center Coliseum | 16–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 27 | December 29, 19877:30p.m. MST | Utah | L 97–98 | Schayes (27) | English,Lever,Schayes (11) | Lever (6) | McNichols Sports Arena10,621 | 16–11
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | January 1, 19886:00p.m. MST | @ Washington | W 124–109 | Vincent (33) | Schayes (7) | Adams (10) | Capital Centre5,326 | 17–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | January 2, 19885:30p.m. MST | @ Detroit | W 151–142 | English (34) | Cooper (11) | Lever (13) | Pontiac Silverdome23,746 | 18–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 | January 4, 19885:30p.m. MST | @ Cleveland | L 101–122 | Evans (28) | Schayes (8) | English (7) | Richfield Coliseum6,448 | 18–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 31 | January 6 | @ New Jersey | W 98–93
| Brendan Byrne Arena | 19–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 32 | January 7, 19886:30p.m. MST | @ Chicago | L 96–100 | Lever (31) | Lever (16) | Lever (12) | Chicago Stadium17,590 | 19–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 33 | January 9, 19885:30p.m. MST | @ Atlanta | L 105–113 | English (27) | Rasmussen,Schayes (9) | Lever (6) | The Omni14,986 | 19–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 34 | January 11 | @ Phoenix | L 115–127
| Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 19–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 14, 19887:30p.m. MST | Atlanta | W 115–112 | English (27) | Schayes (12) | English,Lever,Vincent (5) | McNichols Sports Arena14,944 | 20–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 36 | January 16 | Golden State | W 115–94
| McNichols Sports Arena | 21–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | January 18, 19882:00p.m. MST | Detroit | L 116–123 | English (32) | Vincent (11) | English (7) | McNichols Sports Arena13,004 | 21–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | January 21, 19887:30p.m. MST | L.A. Lakers | W 115–113 | Vincent (23) | Vincent (12) | Lever (8) | McNichols Sports Arena17,022 | 22–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 39 | January 22 | @ Portland | L 106–126
| Memorial Coliseum | 22–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 40 | January 28, 19887:30p.m. MST | Milwaukee | W 122–113 | English (24) | Rasmussen (8) | Adams,English,Lever (8) | McNichols Sports Arena13,911 | 23–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 41 | January 30 | L.A. Clippers | W 124–106
| McNichols Sports Arena | 24–17
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | February 3, 19887:30p.m. MST | Dallas | W 115–105 | English (26) | Lever (9) | Adams (9) | McNichols Sports Arena10,667 | 25–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | February 4 | @ San Antonio | W 129–123
| HemisFair Arena | 26–17 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | February 9 | San Antonio | W 136-108
| McNichols Sports Arena | 27–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 45 | February 11, 19887:30p.m. MST | L.A. Lakers | L 105–120 | English (31) | Rasmussenn (9) | Adams (8) | McNichols Sports Arena17,022 | 27–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 | February 12 | @ Portland | L 105–120
| Memorial Coliseum | 27–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 47 | February 14, 19887:30p.m. MST | Utah | W 107–93 | English (25) | Lever (15) | Lever (8) | McNichols Sports Arena9,971 | 28–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 48 | February 17, 19887:30p.m. MST | Boston | W 138–125 | English (37) | Rasmussen (11) | English (11) | McNichols Sports Arena17,022 | 29–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 49 | February 20 | @ Phoenix | L 108–128
| Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 29–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 50 | February 22, 19887:30p.m. MST | Washington | W 100–87 | Schayes (21) | Lever (15) | English (8) | McNichols Sports Arena10,553 | 30–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 51 | February 24, 19887:30p.m. MST | @ Utah | W 123–120 | English,Rasmussen (35) | Lever (10) | Lever (16) | Salt Palace12,444 | 31–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 | February 26 | Philadelphia | W 120–104
| McNichols Sports Arena | 32–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 53 | February 28 | New York | W 109–100
| McNichols Sports Arena | 33–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 54 | February 29, 19886:30p.m. MST | @ Dallas | L 96–123 | Schayes (21) | Lever (8) | Adams (8) | Reunion Arena17,007