Franchises’ futures are on the line this week apart from the Nuggets.
Denver’s the only NBA team heading into Wednesday’s first round and Thursday’s second round without a pick in this year’s draft.
Here are the Nuggets’ five best and worst picks since the NBA reduced its draft to two rounds in 1989:
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Best
1. Nikola Jokic
This is arguably the most impactful pick in NBA history. With the 41st overall pick in the 2014 draft, Tim Connelly’s front office took a shot on an obscure Serbian prospect who caught scout Rafal Juc’s eye and went on to change the franchise. Jokic became an all-time great with three Most Valuable Player awards and a Finals Most Valuable Player before his 30th birthday. Even if there’s not more hardware in Jokic’s future, it’s hard to think of a better possible pick.
2. Dikembe Mutombo
Bernie Bickerstaff helped start a new era for the Nuggets in 1991. Doug Moe’s high-scoring Nuggets were no more, and stingy defense was on its way to Denver. Mount Mutombo was the fourth pick of the draft, following Larry Johnson, Kenny Anderson and Billy Owens and ended up being the undisputed best player in his class. Mutombo left the Nuggets after five seasons, but he provided one of the club’s iconic moments after leading the Nuggets to three straight playoff wins in 1994 to eliminate the top-seeded SuperSonics.
3. Jamal Murray
There are better players in franchise history, but Nuggets history wouldn’t be the same if Connelly didn’t strike gold with the seventh pick in 2016. Jokic was coming off an eye-opening rookie season, and the Nuggets found the Robin to Jokic’s Batman in an otherwise underwhelming part of the draft. Denver might still be without championship if the Nuggets ended up with Dragan Bender, Kris Dunn or Buddy Hield, the three players selected before Murray, or the three players selected after: Marquese Chriss, Jakob Poeltl and Thon Maker.
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4. Carmelo Anthony
A look at the franchise before and after Anthony was picked third in a loaded 2003 draft shows how important it is to get these picks right. The Nuggets were in an eight-year playoff drought after the 2002-03 season. Denver was back in the playoffs in Anthony’s rookie year, starting a seven-year postseason streak that included a trip to the 2009 conference finals before Anthony requested a trade. Fortunately for Kiki VanDeWeghe, Detroit took the only bust of the top-five, Darko Milicic, with the second pick.
5. Christian Braun
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Trying to push the Nuggets over the top, Booth identified the former Kansas Jayhawk with the 21st pick of the 2022 draft. The Nuggets were champions less than a year later with Braun contributing in a reserve role as a rookie. The pick is even more impressive when considering the crop of wings that were selected around Braun, guys like AJ Griffin, Dalen Terry, Jake LaRavia, Malaki Branham, David Roddy and MarJon Beauchamp.
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Worst
1. Nikoloz Tskitishvili
The Georgian forward shares a similar name to the greatest draft pick in franchise history, but the results couldn’t be more different. Tskitishvili was a massive miss for VanDeWeghe with the fifth pick of the 2002 draft. The 7-footer averaged 3.2 points on 30% shooting over parts of three seasons with the Nuggets. Guys like Nene, Amar’e Stoudemire and Caron Butler were taken in the second half of the top 10.
2. Tyler Lydon
For all the good Connelly did for Denver, the 2017 draft is not on that list. Denver drafted Donovan Mitchell at 13 but promptly traded the future star to Utah for Trey Lyles and the 24th pick in that year’s draft. After a couple of solid collegiate seasons at Syracuse, Lydon was Denver’s pick via the Jazz. He played in one game as a rookie and appeared in 25 more in his second season before his NBA days were done. It’s fair to ask if Denver has another championship had OG Anunoby fallen one more pick or Connelly went with a player like Kyle Kuzma, Derrick White or Josh Hart, who were still on the board.
3. Efthimios Rentzias
At least Tskitishvili and Lydon can say they scored points for the Nuggets. Bickerstaff spent the 23rd pick of the 1996 draft on the Greek big man. Rentzias remained in Greece instead of heading to Denver and was traded a little more than a year later. He played the only 35 games of his NBA career for the 76ers in 2002-03. In Bickerstaff’s defense, that year’s draft was short on start power after Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash were selected 13th and 15th, respectively.
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4. Bones Hyland
The 2021 draft was probably the hardest scout since at least 1989 – and Hyland’s short time in Denver was not without its high points – but the way it ended cost the Nuggets. Connelly’s appreciation for bucket-getters caught up with him, as Herbert Jones, Miles McBride and Ayo Dosunmu were all selected between the 35th and 38th picks. Any one of those three would look pretty good in a Nuggets uniform these days. Hyland wasn’t happy with his role by the end of his short time in Denver. The Nuggets weren’t happy with his behavior and opted to trade the mercurial guard to the Clippers ahead of the 2023 deadline. The Clippers traded him to Atlanta this year, and the Hawks promptly waived Hyland before he reunited with Connelly in Minnesota on a two-way contract.
5. Zeke Nnaji
There was good reason to like Nnaji after his only season at Arizona and scouting the 2020 draft came with some unique challenges. The big man posted 16.1 points, grabbed 8.6 rebounds and averaged nearly a steal and a block while starting all 32 games for the Wildcats as a freshman. That production hasn’t carried over to the NBA. His second season with the Nuggets, when he averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, was the best heading into his sixth NBA season. Unfortunately for Connelly and the Nuggets, guys like Immanuel Quickley, Jaden McDaniels and Desmond Bane were picked in the final six picks of the first round. Nnaji’s still under contract for at least the next two seasons, so there’s time for him to turn it around as unlikely as it looks at times.