1984-85: Nuggets Get "Fat" And Natt
In 1984-85 Denver arrested the previous season's slide and turned in a stellar season. Everything fell into place for the Nuggets as they finished 52-30 and contended for the Western Conference title.
Before the season even began Denver made a crucial move by engineering a blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Nuggets sent Vandeweghe to Portland in exchange for Wayne Cooper, Lafayette "Fat" Lever, Calvin Natt (who made the 1985 All-Star Team), and two draft picks. The deal paid immediate dividends for the Nuggets. They got off to a 12-3 start, floundered a bit, then found their second wind, going 29-14 from January through March, including 20 straight wins at home.
The team's momentum in the second half of the season carried over into the playoffs. Denver met San Antonio in the first round and engaged the Spurs in a postseason shootout for the second time in three seasons. This time the Nuggets prevailed, winning the best-of-five series in five games. Denver had an easier time in the conference semifinals, trouncing the Utah Jazz, four games to one. Their reward, however, was a matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers bounced the Nuggets in five high-scoring games on their way to the NBA title.
For the season, Alex English scored 27.9 points per game, and 6-6, 220-pound Calvin Natt had the best of his five seasons for Denver, averaging 23.3 points. Two of Bobby Jones's team defensive records fell when versatile 6-3 guard Fat Lever recorded 202 steals and Wayne Cooper blocked 197 shots. Dan Issel retired after the 1984-85 season, having averaged 20.7 points over a 10-year Denver career and scoring 16,589 points for the franchise. All told, Issel scored 27,482 points in his ABA/ NBA career, ranking behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, and Moses Malone on the all-time ABA/NBA scoring list. At the time of Issel's retirement he owned most of the Nuggets' career offensive records, although he was later superseded by Alex English.
via i.cdn.turner.com
History repeats itself, does it not? Interesting how we sent Kiki packing once again and engineered a crazy blockbuster trade that allowed us to soar to the Western Conference Finals. Things are going to be different this time around!
