Once a day until opening night, Oct. 22. Twice a day after that — morning and evening.
Legends
Six men the building still answers to
Not a hall of fame ballot. A short reading list for how Denver basketball learned to talk about itself — the leap, the horse, the scorer, the wag, the decade, and the offense.
The leap
David Thompson
No. 33 · 1975–1982
Before Denver had an NBA banner, it had a man who left the floor and seemed to choose later whether to come down. David Thompson arrived from North Carolina State in 1975, out of an ABA bidding war with the Atlanta Hawks, and gave the new Nuggets a skyline.
With Dan Issel he carried Larry Brown’s team to the last ABA Finals. They lost to Julius Erving. Thompson’s number 33 went into the rafters on November 7, 1992. The nickname Skywalker was description, not a campaign. Every Denver team since has been measured, a little unfairly, against the nights he made the sport look airborne.
