BREAKING: Nuggets’ 10 worst NBA Draft day mistakes in history
The Nuggets have drafted well while building their current core, but they've also made some huge NBA Draft day mistakes over the years.
The Denver Nuggets have had some solid NBA Draft luck in recent years. Most notably, they selected Nikola Jokic 41st overall in 2014. The three-time MVP has since established himself as the greatest second-round pick of all time.
The rest of Denver's core consists of Christian Braun, who was taken in the 20s, Michael Porter Jr., who was selected with the last lottery pick in 2018, and Jamal Murray, who has become one of the best players in Nuggets franchise history despite not being a Top 5 pick. Denver even landed Carmelo Anthony years ago in 2003.
The 2003 NBA Draft was one of the best NBA Draft classes ever, but an all-time draft bust in Darko Milicic was selected just one pick before Anthony.
The team hasn't always been as lucky, though. They have made their fair share of mistakes, oftentimes in the form of draft-day trades that look horrible in hindsight. So check out the gallery to see the 10 worst Nuggets NBA Draft day mistakes in history.
10. Emmanuel Mudiay – 2015
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The Nuggets drafted Jokic in 2014, but he didn't come stateside for another year. The Nuggets took Murray in the lottery in 2016, but he had a slow rookie season, particularly at the very start of his career when he missed each of his first 16 shots through his first four professional games. Those two eventually developed into stars who have carried the Nuggets for nearly a decade.
For a while during the early days of this Nuggets era, though, Emmanuel Mudiay was looked at as the team's franchise player. The Nuggets drafted Mudiay seventh overall in 2015, but many considered him to be a steal with that pick.
The point guard who played the year prior in the CBA was uber-athletic, but his jump shot and playmaking ability never came around, forcing the team to eventually choose Jokic as their main building block and Murray as their long-term point guard.
The Nuggets traded Mudiay during only his third season with the team. Now, they are perennial contenders, but they may have reached championship status sooner had they drafted somebody else early in the 2015 draft. Devin Booker, for example, wasn't taken until pick 13.
9. Tyler Lydon – 2017
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While they have mostly had draft day hits while building their current core, another recent miss was Tyler Lydon in 2017. After the Nuggets drafted him 24th overall, Lydon only played in one game as a rookie and 26 games in total during his two-year career, which amounted to just 23 career points in nothing but garbage time. The Lydon pick actually came via a draft-day trade in 2017, but more on the rest of that deal later.
8. Tom LaGarde – 1977
The Nuggets' first draft under the NBA umbrella came in 1977. Unfortunately, they messed up their first pick. Ninth-overall selection Tom LaGarde lasted just one season in Denver before the Nuggets traded him to the Seattle SuperSonics. His rookie season saw him score only four points per game. The trade worked out for LaGarde, though, as he'd contribute to a championship in Seattle the very next season.
7. Julius Hodge – 2005
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Julius Hodge wasn't drafted nearly as high as a lot of the players on this list, but he accomplished next to nothing during his career, so he deserves to be here. The Nuggets took Hodge 20th overall in 2005, but he only played in 18 games for the Nuggets. Hodge played 33 total minutes as a rookie before he was shot in a shocking freeway incident. Upon returning for a sophomore campaign, the Nuggets traded Hodge after just four games.
6. James Ray – 1980
The Nuggets drafted James Ray fifth overall in 1980. He turned into a massive draft bust and only averaged 3.2 points per game over three years before he was out of the league.
Luckily, the 1980 draft wasn't all bad for the Nuggets. The Dallas Mavericks drafted Kiki Vandeweghe 11th overall, but he refused to play for them, so he forced a trade to Denver. Vandeweghe made two All-Star Games with the Nuggets and was a part of some of the highest-scoring teams in NBA history. He regularly scored close to 30 points per game in the early '80s.
5. Tony Battie – 1997
Another wasted fifth overall pick in Nuggets history came with the selection of Tony Battie in 1997. The 6-foot-11 big man was inefficient as a rookie, only scoring at a 44.6% clip. That led to Denver trading him after just one season. The Nuggets moved him in a deal for Nick Van Exel. The ex-Los Angeles Lakers guard did have a couple of productive and entertaining years in Denver.
4. Rudy Gobert – 2013
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Rudy Gobert was not drafted by the Jazz. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year was actually drafted by the Nuggets. The Stifle Tower was taken 27th overall after he set the NBA Draft Combine record for wingspan. His reach would be on display throughout his career, as he is regularly one of the shot blocks leaders and has become one of the best defensive players ever.
That defensive expertise happened after the Nuggets gave him up for next to nothing. Denver traded Gobert for cash considerations and a second-round pick that became Erick Green. Green had previously led college basketball in scoring, but he didn't have a skill set that was translatable to the NBA game.