As part of the Denver Nuggets’ 50th-anniversary celebration, the franchise will retire the No. 12 jersey of Lafayette “Fat” Lever this season. Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke made the announcement in front of the team and Lever himself after Tuesday's shootaround.

The retirement ceremony for Lever will be held during the Nuggets’ home game on December 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Lever spent six of his 11 NBA seasons with Denver (1984-1990), and made the playoffs all six years. He averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.5 steals in 474 career games as a Nugget. He remains the franchise’s leader in steals and is second in assists. He’s also well inside the top 10 in points, rebounds, and minutes played.

Lever was known as a triple-double machine during his heyday. He is the Nuggets’ all-time leader in triple-doubles with 46 (including three in the playoffs), and is No. 8 overall in NBA history. From 1986-89, only Magic Johnson (43) had more triple-doubles in the NBA than Lever, who had 38 during that three-year span.

Lever is set to become the sixth Nuggets player to have his jersey retired, joining Byron Beck’s No. 40, David Thompson’s No. 33, Dan Issel’s No. 44, Alex English’s No. 2 and Dikembe Mutombo’s No. 55 in the Pepsi Center rafters. Lever's coach, the legendary Doug Moe, is also honored with a banner that bears his 432 career wins with the Nuggets.