1997–98 Denver Nuggets season

1997–98 Denver Nuggets season
Head coach Bill Hanzlik
Arena McNichols Sports Arena
Results
Record 11–71 (.134)
Place Division: 7th (Midwest)
Conference: 14th (Western)
Playoff finish DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Nuggets’ 22nd season in the NBA and 31st season as a franchise.[1]

The Nuggets set numerous unwanted records during this season. They won only eleven games, the equal second-fewest in an 82-game NBA season with the 1992–93 Dallas Mavericks, and just like the Mavericks were for a long time viewed as likely to beat the 1972–73 76ers record of winning only nine games in a full season.[2][3] After forty games the Nuggets were an amazingly bad 2–38 (winning percentage .050),[4] a mark equalled only by the 1993–94 Mavericks and they later lost sixteen consecutive games[4] before finally avoiding a possibility of the worst-ever NBA record against the Golden State Warriors on 27 March.

The dismal season meant head coach Bill Hanzlik was fired after a single season in charge of the team.

In his 2007 study The NBA from Top to Bottom, basketball enthusiast Kyle Wright argued that in fact the 1997–98 Nuggets were a worse team than the 1972–73 76ers, saying that they played a worse schedule in the Midwest Division than the 1972–73 76ers did in their Atlantic Division where a dominant Boston Celtics team was played seven times by the 76ers.[5] In contrast, Wright says, “the Nuggets got to play the 62–20 Utah Jazz only four times”.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 5 Tony Battie PF/C  United States Texas Tech
2 33 James Cotton SG  United States Long Beach State
2 42 Jason Lawson C  United States Villanova

Roster

Starter

Bench

Reverse

Inactive

*Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Utah Jazz 62 20 .756 – 36–5 26–15 22–2
x-San Antonio Spurs 56 26 .683 6 31–10 25–16 18–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 45 37 .549 17 26–15 19–22 14–10
x-Houston Rockets 41 41 .500 21 24–17 17–24 14–10
Dallas Mavericks 20 62 .244 42 13–28 7–34 9–15
Vancouver Grizzlies 19 63 .232 43 14–27 5–36 4–20
Denver Nuggets 11 71 .134 51 9–32 2–39 3–21
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Utah Jazz 62 20 .756 –
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics 61 21 .744 1
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 61 21 .744 1
4 x-Phoenix Suns 56 26 .683 6
5 x-San Antonio Spurs 56 26 .683 6
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 46 36 .561 16
7 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 45 37 .549 17
8 x-Houston Rockets 41 41 .500 21
9 Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 35
10 Dallas Mavericks 20 62 .244 42
11 Vancouver Grizzlies 19 63 .232 43
11 Golden State Warriors 19 63 .232 43
13 Los Angeles Clippers 17 65 .207 45
14 Denver Nuggets 11 71 .134 51
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game Log

1997–98 Game Log

Total: 11–71 (Home: 9–32 ; Road: 2–39)

1997–98 Schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Dean Garrett 82 82 32.1 .428 N/A .648 7.9 1.1 0.7 1.6 7.3
Anthony Goldwire 82 32 27.0 .423 .384 .806 1.8 3.4 1.0 0.1 9.2
Danny Fortson 80 23 22.6 .452 .333 .776 5.6 1.0 0.6 0.4 10.2
LaPhonso Ellis 76 71 33.9 .407 .284 .805 7.2 2.8 0.9 0.6 14.3
Johnny Newman 74 15 29.4 .431 .343 .820 1.9 1.9 1.0 0.3 14.7
Bobby Jackson 68 53 30.0 .392 .259 .814 4.4 4.7 1.5 0.2 11.6
Eric Washington 66 36 23.3 .404 .321 .783 1.9 1.2 0.8 0.4 7.7
Tony Battie 65 49 23.2 .446 .214 .702 5.4 0.9 0.8 1.1 8.4
Joe Wolf 57 8 10.9 .331 .200 .500 2.6 0.5 0.4 0.1 1.5
Priest Lauderdale 39 0 8.8 .417 N/A .551 2.2 0.5 0.2 0.4 3.7
Bryant Stith 31 15 23.2 .333 .208 .872 2.1 1.6 0.7 0.3 7.6
Kiwane Garris 28 0 8.0 .338 .357 .760 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.0 2.4
Harold Ellis 27 3 12.7 .559 .000 .635 1.9 0.7 0.7 0.1 6.1
Cory Alexander 23 19 34.7 .435 .411 .846 4.3 6.0 2.0 0.3 14.0
George Zidek 6 0 7.0 .267 N/A .833 2.2 0.2 0.0 0.3 3.0
Eric Williams 4 4 36.3 .393 N/A .689 5.3 3.0 1.0 0.0 19.8

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ 1997–98 Denver Nuggets
  2. ↑ “Nuggets Falter Again: Lose 87–75”; in Rocky Mountain News; December 24, 1997
  3. ↑ “Warriors Pound Nuggets 81–69; Wizards Win 97–95“; in Point Pleasant Register; December 27, 1997; p. 5
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 1997–98 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results
  5. ↑ Wright, Kyle; The NBA from Top to Bottom: A History of the NBA from the No. 1 Team to the No. 1,153; pp. 80-87. ISBN 9780595697960

See also