1976–77 Denver Nuggets season

NBA professional basketball team season (1st season in NBA) August 2023 March 2026 Denver Nuggets 1977 yes 50 32 Midwest 1 2 Larry Brown McNichols Sports Arena KWGN-TV KOA West Conference semifinals(lost to Trail Blazers 2–4) DEN The 1976–77 Denver Nuggets season, is the Nuggets first season in the NBA, after nine seasons in the ABA. In their NBA playoffs debut, the Nuggets lost to the eventual NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the First Round. Offseason ABA-NBA merger With the conclusion of the 1975–76 season, the American Basketball Association came to an end with the ABA-NBA merger. Four ABA teams entered the NBA: the Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. The other ABA teams were folded prior to the merger except for the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, both of which were folded as part of the league merger. The Nuggets and the other ABA teams were given harsh obstacles as part of their entry to the NBA. Each team had to pay an entry fee; for the Nuggets it was $3.2 million.Remember the ABA: Denver Rockets/Nuggets Year-to-Year Rosters The Denver and the other four ABA team also received no television money for their first three NBA seasons in the NBA, were not allowed to participate in the 1976 NBA draft, had to be classified as "expansion franchises" (despite longer histories and more success than many NBA teams) and had to go for two years without any vote regarding the distribution of NBA gate receipts or the realignment of NBA divisions.Remember the ABA: Denver Rockets/Nuggets Year-by-Year Notes https://web.archive.org/web/20120320020429/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/DenverMaterial/RocketsNuggetsYearly.html 2012-03-20 The Nuggets moved from the ABA to the NBA's Midwest Division.Remember the ABA: Denver Nuggets NBA draft 1976 NBA draft As part of the terms of the ABA-NBA merger the Nuggets were prohibited from participating in both the 1976 NBA draft of college players and in the dispersal draft of ABA players from teams that did not enter the NBA. Roster Denver Nuggets 1976–77 #003EA4 #FFC72D #D50034 #FFC72D 40 Byron Beck PF 6 9 225 1945-01-25 Denver 20 Mack Calvin PG 6 0 165 1947-07-27 USC 44 Dan Issel C 6 9 235 1948-10-25 Kentucky 24 Bobby Jones basketball, born 1951 PF 6 9 210 1951-12-18 North Carolina 12 Ted McClain SG 6 1 180 1946-08-30 Tennessee State 35 Paul Silas PF 6 7 220 1943-07-12 Creighton 21 Fatty Taylor PG 6 0 175 1946-03-13 La Salle 33 David Thompson basketball SG 6 4 195 1954-07-13 North Carolina State 10 Marvin Webster C 7 1 225 1952-04-13 Morgan State University 42 Willie Wise SF 6 5 210 1947-03-03 Drake University Larry Brown Frank Hamblen Regular season Season standings DEN DEN Game log Regular season Denver Nuggets 1977 #0000CD #FFD700 Total: 50–32 (home: 33–8; road: 17–24) Denver Nuggets October yes #FFD700 #0000CD 1 0 3 0 Denver Nuggets November #FFD700 #0000CD 6 0 2 5 Denver Nuggets December #FFD700 #0000CD 7 1 3 4 Denver Nuggets January #FFD700 #0000CD 7 2 2 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 35 | January 4, 1977 | @ Atlanta | L 109–113 | | | | The Omni | 24–11 Denver Nuggets February #FFD700 #0000CD 6 0 2 5 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 56 | February 20, 1977 | Atlanta | W 111–95 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 37–19 Denver Nuggets March #FFD700 #0000CD 5 2 2 7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 66 | March 11, 1977 | @ Atlanta | L 95–100 | | | | The Omni | 42–24 Denver Nuggets April #FFD700 #0000CD 1 0 2 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 79 | April 6, 1977 | Atlanta | W 110–95 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 49–30 DEN 1977 Playoffs Denver Nuggets 1977 yes #0000CD #FFD700 Denver Nuggets Western Conference Semifinals no yes yes #FFD700 #0000CD 2 1 0 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 20 | Portland | L 100–101 | Dan Issel (28) | Paul Silas (11) | Ted McClain (5) | McNichols Sports Arena17,995 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 23 | Portland | W 121–110 | Dan Issel (36) | Paul Silas (9) | Jones, McClain (7) | McNichols Sports Arena17,975 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 24 | @ Portland | L 106–110 | David Thompson (40) | Jones, Issel (9) | Bobby Jones (5) | Memorial Coliseum12,736 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 26 | @ Portland | L 96–105 | Mack Calvin (28) | Jones, Silas (8) | Paul Silas (4) | Memorial Coliseum12,930 | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | May 1 | Portland | W 114–105 (OT) | David Thompson (31) | Dan Issel (18) | Jim Price (11) | McNichols Sports Arena17,517 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | May 2 | @ Portland | L 92–108 | David Thompson (17) | Marvin Webster (16) | Ted McClain (7) | Memorial Coliseum12,924 | 2–4 |- DEN 1977 yes Awards, records, and honors David Thompson, All-NBA First Team Bobby Jones, NBA All-Defensive First Team References Nuggets on Basketball Reference Category:Denver Nuggets seasons Denver Denver Nuggets Denver Nuggets