![]() After the Nuggets were routed 95-78 at Miami on Dec. The stress that weighed on Issel during his first coaching stint with Denver returned the second time around. And then right in September is when Dan said he was going to coach the team.” Said Bowen: “My first season in the NBA was kind of wild. I had no intentions of coaching the second time.” Related Story Denver Nuggets’ Jeff Green is taking nothing for granted in the NBA Finals Read now “And a lot of people think that I fired Mike D’Antoni because I had an ego and I wanted to coach. “I didn’t want to coach the second time,” Issel said. Issel said he reluctantly agreed to and that D’Antoni has refused to talk to him ever since his dismissal from Denver. Issel told Andscape he didn’t want to return to coaching but was told to by then-new Nuggets owner Bill Laurie. Issel had said beforehand that D’Antoni deserved to return for a second season. He replaced then-coach Mike D’Antoni on Sept. Issel, however, returned to coaching while also serving as the president of basketball operations before the 1999-2000 season. 14, 1995, after stating that the duties and pressures of the job “have started to make me something I don’t want to be.” Thirty-four games into the 1994-95 season, Issel resigned on Jan. The highlight of his coaching career was leading the eighth-seed Nuggets to a historic upset of the top-seed Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the 1994 NBA playoffs. Issel had a 180-208 record during two stints as Nuggets coach from 1992- to 2001. Issel also had his ups and downs as a coach and president of basketball operations for the Nuggets. ![]() He believed in me.”ĭenver Nuggets coach Dan Issel calls out advice during a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Pepsi Center on Oct. He gave me my opportunity as a player to be part of the Nuggets. He was tough-minded as a coach as well.”īowen, who hugged Issel after Game 1, said: “There are few names when you think of the Denver Nuggets, and Dan Issel is one of those. He was a fiery competitor, tough-minded and gritty as a player. “When I walked off the court after Game 1, he actually called my name,” Jones said. Jones and Bowen were very excited to see Issel get honored during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Issel coached two former Nuggets players who are now assistant coaches, Popeye Jones and Ryan Bowen. I’m thankful for all the things he taught me.” Didn’t back down from anything.” Related Story How Calvin Booth helped the Denver Nuggets reach their first NBA Finals Read nowĮSPN NBA analyst and former Nuggets forward Jalen Rose said, “Dan not only was a certified walking bucket in the ABA and NBA, but I had the privilege of also calling him coach. “He was able to drop those 28-footers and also go to the hoop. He would have been interesting in today’s game because he was a 3-point shooter,’’ said former Nuggets star forward Bill Hanzlik. 44 jersey was also retired by the Nuggets. Walter Kennedy Citizen Award winner’s No. The seven-time All-Star also is the Nuggets’ all-time leader in free throws made and total rebounds. The former University of Kentucky star was nicknamed “The Horse” due to his durability, only missing 24 games during his 15-year pro basketball career. Issel is a Basketball Hall of Famer who ranks 12th all-time on the NBA-ABA career points list with 27,482. Issel was the Nuggets’ all-time leading scorer with 25,198 points from 1975 to 1985 before being passed by English. The Nuggets were one of four NBA teams that merged into the NBA during the 1976-77 season. J” Erving and the New York Nets in the 1976 ABA Finals. Issel was a member of the Nuggets when they played in their last season in the American Basketball Association, losing to Julius “Dr. Long before Jokić was born, Issel was arguably the best player in Nuggets franchise history. I’ve done several season ticket gatherings this year. I’ve done everything from player to coach to administration to doing the color on the TV game. “I was at a game earlier this and they put me on the Jumbotron and there was a nice reception. “I don’t know if I ever have had a reception like this since I left,” Issel, who missed a promotional free throw before Game 1, told Andscape. But more than two decades after Issel responded to a heckling fan with a racially insensitive remark and resigned as Nuggets coach, the franchise chose to spotlight “The Horse” before the start of the NBA Finals. Denver could have chosen former greats such as Alex English, Fat Lever, Dikembe Mutombo or Carmelo Anthony to represent them on this historic night. Rather, a former Nuggets star in Dan Issel.Īfter 47 seasons in the league, the Nuggets were about to play in Game 1 of their first appearance in the NBA Finals. DENVER – The first shot of the 2023 NBA Finals was not taken by Denver Nuggets stars Nikola Jokić or Jamal Murray.
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