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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
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
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
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
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.
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The Nuggets really made the trade because they were pinching pennies and didn't want to pay a first-round rookie-scale contract. Denver's desire to be cheap cost them as it helped build a division rival's core for years to come.
3. Raef LaFrentz – 1998
The drafts around the turn of the century didn't go well for the Nuggets, which is why this era of Denver basketball was arguably the worst in franchise history. One of their biggest draft busts ever came in the form of Raef LaFrentz. He wasn't horrible, but he was far from spectacular, and that is what teams need when drafting in the Top 3.
LaFrentz averaged 13.8, 12.4, 12.9, and 14.9 points per game in his 3½ seasons with the Nuggets. He actually had an impressive combination of skills. LaFrentz was ahead of his time as a big who could shoot, and he was a solid shot blocker.
During the 2001-02 season, LaFrentz had four games over a three-month span where he made five 3-pointers and blocked five shots. He is the NBA's all-time leader in reaching those thresholds.
The problem is that LaFrentz was just okay but not great in a draft class where a lot of players became Hall of Famers. Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, and Vince Carter were all drafted after LaFrentz.
The Kansas product was also most known for not finishing his shot after being on the receiving end of Jason William's elbow pass during the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge.
2. Nikoloz Tskitishvili – 2002
The fifth pick has seemingly been cursed for the Nuggets. They've never drafted first overall, and they've messed up all of their fifth overall selections. Even LaPhonso Ellis, who had a solid career with the Nuggets after going fifth overall in 1992, didn't produce nearly as much as the players taken just before or after him.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili was the fifth overall pick in 2002. At the time, everybody was looking for the next Nowitzki. Tskitishvili fit the description as a European big with a little shooting touch and strong fundamentals.
However, the Georgian wasn't ready for the rigors of the NBA game. Tskitishvili was given rotation minutes as a rookie, but it only led to 3.9 points per game. He fell out of favor with the Nuggets after that and was never really given another chance.
From a glass-half-full perceptive, Tskitishvili's struggles led to the Nuggets picking high again the next year, and they were able to draft Anthony third overall in 2003. Had the team drafted two superstars in the early 2000s rather than just one, the Nuggets could have had more postseason success against the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers teams that always gave them fits.
1. Donovan Mitchell – 2017
Gobert wasn't the only player who the Nuggets drafted and sent to Utah to help the team build the last iteration of their core. Four years after giving up Gobert, the player who would become Utah's defensive ace, the Nuggets sent them their offensive leader.
The Nuggets had backcourt depth, so they traded Donovan Mitchell on draft day for Trey Lyles and the pick that would become Lydon.
Neither power forward did much for Denver, whereas Mitchell became a three-time All-Star during his time in Utah alone. Mitchell established himself as one of the best scorers in the NBA during his time with the Jazz, and now he is a fringe MVP candidate with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The trade went down as arguably the best in franchise history for Utah.
The Nuggets, in theory, could have had a big four of Jokic, Murray, Mitchell, and Gobert. It is unclear how those players would have fared together from a chemistry perspective, but that is a lot of talent that the Nuggets drafted in just a four-year period.
