Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets joined the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948–49 season, and then joined the National Basketball Association when the NBL was absorbed by the Basketball Association of America to create the NBA for the 1949–50 season. The Nuggets were the first major professional sports franchise in Colorado, and the first NBA franchise west of the Mississippi.

In 1950, the Nuggets were one of seven teams, including Anderson Packers, Chicago Stags, Sheboygan Red Skins, St. Louis Bombers, Washington Capitols, Waterloo Hawks, that dropped out of the National Basketball Association altogether.

The Nuggets started the 1949–50 season with a record of 0–15, and finished the season 11–51.

History
The team's roots can be traced back to 1932 when the original amateur Nuggets were formed as a member of the Amateur Athletic Union. Led by player-coach Jack McCracken, the Nuggets were one of the most powerful amateur athletic basketball teams in the country, winning the 1939 AAU championship and losing the 1940 championship to the Phillips 66ers. Not playing professionally, its players were given extra jobs by team sponsors. Featuring players such as McCracken, Ace Gruenig and Vince Boryla, the Nuggets continued as an AAU power throughout their existence, and the AAU has been credited by historians for helping put Denver on the national sports map.

After the 1947–48 season, the Nuggets decided to step out of their amateur status. Rather than join the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL), which was founded in 1947 and remained amateur, the Nuggets' general manager, Hal Davis, secured a franchise in the nine-team National Basketball League to play in the 1948–49 season. The Nug