Nuggets have several candidates in retired numbers game

High above the Pepsi Center floor, five commemorative banners hang from the roof in honor of the greatest names and numbers in Nuggets franchise history: Byron Beck, No. 40; Dan Issel, No. 44; David Thompson, No. 33; Alex English, No. 2; and Doug Moe, 432 victories.

After talking to Moe, Thompson and some other great names in franchise history – LaPhonso Ellis, Walter Davis and Bill Hanzlik – this summer, it got me thinking about what other names might eventually join the list.

“There can’t be much of a criteria if I’m up there,” Moe joked during a recent Denver visit. “If it was up to me, I’d put all the guys up there.”

With a NBA history of 35 years and a professional basketball history dating to 1967, the Nuggets have some worthy candidates should they choose to raise another banner at the Pepsi Center.

The frontrunner would probably be Lafayette “Fat” Lever, a do-it-all combo guard who played for the Nuggets from 1984-90. Lever averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.46 steals during his six seasons with Denver. Along with English and Issel, he is one of three players in Nuggets history to rank in the top-10 in career points (7th), rebounds (7th), assists (2nd) and steals (1st).

Lever, who wore No. 12, also recorded 45 career triple-doubles, which ranks sixth on the NBA’s all-time list. Arizona State University will retire his number on Jan. 28, and there would be support for the Nuggets to hold a similar ceremony.

“Fat definitely deserves it,” Moe said. “Fat was a great player and had the numbers.”

Lever came to Denver in the trade that sent Kiki Vandeweghe to the Portland Trail Blazers on June 7, 1984. Though he spent just four years playing for the Nuggets, Vandeweghe also warrants consideration for having his No. 55 retired.

Vandeweghe averaged 23.3 points for the Nuggets, which ranks fifth in team history.

“He was an offensive genius,” Moe said.

Vandeweghe could score from anywhere on the court, but some of his most significant contributions in Denver took place in the front office. As the Nuggets’ general manager from 2001-06, he put together a roster that ended a nine-year playoff drought and began a string of eight consecutive postseason appearances.

From 1970-78, the Nuggets were perennial playoff participants. One of the primary contributors was Ralph Simpson, a 6-foot-5 swingman out of Michigan State.

Simpson, who wore No. 10, is fifth on Denver’s all-time scoring list and also ranks in the top 10 in career assists ands steals. He helped usher the Nuggets from the American Basketball Association to the NBA in 1976.

“Ralph Simpson was underappreciated,” said his former teammate Thompson. “He was a great player for the Nuggets. He was an All-Star. My first year in the NBA, he made first-team All-NBA. Ralph was a great player in the ABA and NBA.”

If Simpson, Vandeweghe and Lever are the leading candidates to have their jerseys retired by the Nuggets, former center Dikembe Mutombo and guard Michael Adams are close behind. Mutombo remains the franchise leader in blocked shots, while Adams ranks third in career assists and second in three-point field goals.

On the coaching side, George Karl is building a case for joining Moe in the rafters. With 328 wins since his arrival in 2005, Karl is 104 victories behind Moe. He has led the Nuggets to four straight 50-win seasons and is one of only seven coaches in NBA history to win 1,000 regular-season games.