My Favorite Teams Ever, Update #3

The Carmelo Anthony Nuggets (2003-2011)

I really had no choice but to love these guys because it seemed as if they brought in more and more favorite players of mine every year.  It started with the selection of Carmelo Anthony in the ’03 draft.  I’ve loved Melo’s game ever since he entered the league.  The way he scores is simply a pleasure to watch.  He’s so smooth, and he makes getting buckets look completely effortless.  His footwork is some of the best in the league, his midrange J has always been lethal, and he’s extremely powerful around the rim.  He’s also a sneaky athlete who has the ups to bang in your face.  Ask Paul Millsap…

 

Andre Miller was also acquired during the Summer of 2003.  ‘Dre didn’t become a favorite player of mine until later on, but I always appreciated his ability to throw the best lobs in the game.  Denver would add plenty of athletic finishers for him to toss his alley-oops to over the next few years.  Marcus Camby was already there when Melo and Miller arrived, as was Nene, as well as The Birdman… and then Kenyon Martin was thrown into the mix…

 

In 2004, the Nuggets signed K-Mart to a contract they probably now regret offering, but hey, sh!t happens.  No one knew he’d have to go through multiple microfracture surgeries, and at the time he was an All-Star.  Anyway, Kenyon has been a fixture in my fav five since I became an NBA fanatic.  He attacks the rim with a rage that I don’t think has ever or will ever be matched by any other basketball player.  He’s a freakish athlete, a top-notch defender, and he plays the game with a legitimate toughness and intensity that makes Kevin Garnett look tame.  K-Mart is one of the game’s few remaining enforcers.  He’s not going to let you get away with any bullsh!t, and I can appreciate that.  He’s definitely a polarizing personality… a guy who the average fan can’t stand, but would love if he suited up for their team.  He’s also a notorious trash talker.  Not even owners are safe from feeling his verbal wrath…

 

DerMarr Johnson was added along with Kenyon in the summer of 2004.  He was a former lottery pick of the Atlanta Hawks who’s career had been set back due to a severe automobile accident.  Even after sustaining serious injuries, DerMarr remained an excellent athlete, and was a great fit in Denver’s uptempo offense.  He never played more than 17 minutes a game during his three seasons in Denver, but he was a pretty solid role player.  His 6’9 frame and superb leaping ability allowed him to run, gun, and dunk with ‘Dre, and he had a nice stroke from downtown to help stretch the defense.  Even more important than his game, though, was his sense of style.  DerMarr Johnson came with some of the most interesting looks that I’ve ever seen on an NBA basketball court.  Here are a few examples…

Basketball is simply more fun to watch when there’s a guy running around with a half-fro and three pairs of striped socks.  Anyway, the next significant addition was JR Smith during the summer of ’06.  They got him for next to nothing from Chicago, and he would turn out to be a valuable (erratic for sure, but still valuable) spark off the bench.  JR’s athleticism and pure basketball talent makes him one of my personal favorite players to watch.  He has been in and out of George Karl’s doghouse over the years, but even he can’t deny that JR does things with a basketball that damn near no one else on the planet can do.  For example…

 

A few months after JR, it was Allen Iverson during the ’06/07 season.  Like Martin, Iverson was a lock on any favorite players list of mine since I began watching basketball.  I was disappointed that the Nuggets had to lose Andre Miller to get him, and I remember arguing that the team may get worse or only make a marginal improvement, but I was still excited that they had added one of my all-time favorites.  Andre Miller didn’t really grow into a favorite of mine until his time with Philly anyway (he was so damn impressive dragging that crusty Sixers team to the playoffs a few years ago).  I turned out to be correct in my assessment of the Miller/Iverson swap… the Nuggets lost in the first round of the playoffs in both ’07 and ’08, and he was then sent packing at the start of the ’08/09 season in exchange for Chauncey Billups.  I was a little disappointed because I was such a big fan of AI, but I was intrigued by what Billups could bring to the table with his championship experience and leadership ability.  The deal worked out swimmingly for Denver.  Billups had them playing defense for the first time, and instantly transformed them from pretenders to contenders.  They made the Western Conference Finals in Chauncey’s first year with the team, taking the Lakers to six tough games.  I still think they could’ve been NBA finalists had George Karl given someone other than Anthony Carter the task of inbounding the ball on two occasions that I would rather not think about (I will never forgive you, AC). 

I’ve got to go back to the summer of ’08 here real quick… that was when the re-addition of The Birdman occurred.  Andersen, who had gone to New Orleans in 2004 and then been suspended for two seasons due to drug use, returned with about twice as many tattoos and ten times as much game.  Chris became one of my favorite players in the league during his time with the Hornets, but I had no idea that he’d ever average six points, six boards, and 2.5 blocks in just 20 minutes a game for a team that would make a deep playoff run.  Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined Birdman becoming that good.  It was a real feel-good story following the drug suspension.  The fact that he came back from it was great, but the fact that he bounced back stronger than ever was truly inspirational.  He became the ultimate fan favorite over the course of the ’08/09 season as he swatted shots into the stands on a regular basis.  Rudy Fernandez got it BAD during one nationally televised game…

 

I’ve also got to give a shout-out to Dahntay Jones, who’s stay in Denver was short-lived, but important none-the-less.  His pesky defense on opposing superstars was a key to Denver’s playoff success, and he threw in plenty of high-flying dunks over the course of the ’08/09 season…

 

Not only did this team have the most interesting cast of characters that I’ve ever seen on an NBA roster, they played an extremely exciting, uptempo style.  George Karl wanted these guys running, gunning, and jumping.  That they did, many times over.  Here are some of my favorite highlights and memories from their eight-year run…

 

Man, it was an awfully fun ride with this team, that’s for damn sure.  They fell apart at the end of last season when Kenyon Martin–the heart of the team–went down with an injury, and you know what happened this year, but I’ll never forget those eight years… especially the ’08/09 season.  That team is probably my second favorite ever.

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