Yes, I know that this is kinda a rip-off of Chris Webber's thing on NBATV, but since he hasn't done the Nuggets yet, I will give my opinion on who the 5 best Nuggets players are by position, starting with...
At point guard, I'd go with ... Lafayette "Fat" Lever. He was a beast every single time he touched the court, not to mention the fact that, in his heydey in the mid-/late-'80s, he was also a triple-double machine, much like Jason Kidd was with the Nets. I'd go with Lever over Chauncey, Pack, Miller, and whatever point-guard you can name.
At shooting guard, I'd be pretty much forced to go with David Thompson. That scoring battle between Thompson and the Iceman in 1977-78 was epic, not to mention that he was a SG who shot over 50% from the field for 4 of his 5 NBA seasons with the Nuggets. Thompson also was a star in the ABA before it merged with the NBA. I put Thompson over Iverson because Iverson only played a little less than two seasons with the Nuggets, while Thompson played 6 full season (not to mention that he didn't complain about practice...). I know that David Thompson faced some drug and injury issues that shortened his career, but his comeback as a basketball minister warranted him a place in Jordan's HOF speech, and that just shows how much of a great man David is.
At small forward, I'd go with Alex "The Blade" English, who was, and still is, arguably the best scorer the Nuggets have ever had (and it didn't hurt that he was a quiet guy off the court). I'd go with Alex over Melo at this point mainly because English was with the Nuggets for over nine seasons, while Melo is entering his seventh.
At power forward, I'd go with Dan Issel, who dominated the ABA for six seasons before coming over to the NBA. Although he did play a good deal of center, I'll consider him a PF for now primarily because of his size (6'9" and 235 lbs.) Issel scored a total 27,482 points over his career, as well as over 11,000 rebounds. He wasn't a great coach, but he was an outstanding player. Laphonso Ellis, Calvin Natt, and Antonio McDyess also would get a good deal of consideration for this spot.
At center, I'd put Mr. Finger-Wag, Dikembe Mutombo. Mutombo averaged 17/12 with 3 blocks in his rookie season, and although he didn't exactly keep up his scoring, he did continue to provide many rebounds, blocks, and subsequent finger-wags.
Looking over this, I'm somewhat surprised no current Nuggets are on here. If this were to be a real NBA roster, I'd probably go with Melo over Thompson.
Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
