The Nuggets have a handful of players in Bleacher Report’s all-time top 100

The Denver Nuggets had six players make the cut on Bleacher Report's all-time top 100 list. Where did they end up, and how high was Nikola Jokic ranked?

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jul 14, 2025, 1:40 PM Updated: 1:42 pm

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Bleacher Report recently released its all-time NBA top 100 rankings as the NBA gets into the heat of the offseason with the draft gone and free agency essentially over. All that is left before the summer truly gets into the dead period of August is the NBA 2K26 Summer League, happening down in Las Vegas through July 20. Good for Nuggets fans, the franchise that they root for had quite a few players crack the top 100 on B/R’s ranking?

Who was on the list and where did they fall?

No. 91 – Chauncey Billups

Billups began his career bouncing around the league for a few seasons before finding himself in Denver from 1998-2000. He then found himself in Minnesota and really settled in with the Detroit Pistons for a handful of years, but managed to find his way back to the Mile High City from 2008-2011.

In his five seasons in Denver, Billups played in 259 games (247 starts) and averaged 16.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. The 2009-10 campaign was his best outing, as he was named an All-Star and finished 12th in MVP voting as he averaged nearly 20 points per game. He went to high school at George Washington in Denver and played his college ball up in Boulder at CU, so he has plenty of ties to Denver and the surrounding area.

Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets to victory, evening the WCF series 2-2 against the Lakers! (2009)

Billups: 24 pts, 3 ast, 3 reb
Martin: 13 pts, 15 reb, 2 blk
Smith: 24 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl pic.twitter.com/guYYyum76U

— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) June 27, 2025

No. 81 – Dikembe Mutombo

Mount Mutombo spent the first five seasons of his career with the Nuggets, and was a stifling force on the defensive end for a team that pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history when they took down the No. 1 seed Seattle Supersonics in the 1994 playoffs. His No. 55 is one of just seven jerseys hanging in the rafter at Ball Arena for good reason.

During his stint with the Nuggets, Mutombo averaged 12.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and a whopping 3.8 blocks per game. He was voted as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1995, the first time he won the award out of four.

Drafted in 1991 by the Nuggets, Dikembe Mutombo racked up 3 All-Star nods and 1 DPOY in 5 seasons with the team 🔥

No. 55 will sit in Denver's rafters forever 👏 pic.twitter.com/jgexwYyNhA

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) October 1, 2024

No. 76 – Alex English

English is the next Nugget on the list, slotting in just ahead of Mutombo. He is another one of the seven people to have their jersey retired by the organization as he had a very successful 11-year stint with the Nuggets. He averaged 25.9 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field for his entire Denver era, and helped lead the Nuggets to a handful of playoff berths in the 1980s, highlighted by an appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 1985.

The 6-foot-8 forward finished in the top 15 of MVP voting in six different seasons and was named as an All-Star eight times. He spent time with Milwaukee, Indiana and Dallas, but did almost all of his damage in the league with the Nuggets.

Alex English (@AlexEnglish_2) dominated during the 1980s. During his 10 full seasons in Denver he played in 8 straight All-Star Games, won a scoring title, AVGED more than 23 PPG 9 years in a row & led the Nuggets to 9 consecutive postseason appearances.pic.twitter.com/xaCrtPQFxl

— Hoop History (@H00PHISTORY) August 15, 2021

No. 60 – Carmelo Anthony

This one has a bit of a sour taste for Nuggets fans given how his time in Denver came to an end in 2011. Nonetheless, Anthony helped bring the Nuggets out of the depths of the NBA into prominence in the Western Conference, even though he was only able to lead them out of the first round of the playoffs just once in 2009. While he will mostly be remembered for what he did with the New York Knicks in the second half of his career, his impact in Denver is important.

Melo averaged 24.8 points per game on 45.9% shooting in eight seasons with the Nuggets. He was arguably snubbed from winning Rookie of the Year in 2004 and made four All-NBA teams during his time in Denver to go along with four All-Star nominations. His jab step mid range jumpers will always be engraved into Nuggets fans from that era, as he will forever be one of the greatest scorers in franchise history.

When Carmelo Anthony set franchise records for points in a quarter for both the Nuggets and the Knicks

Melo’s 3rd Q in Denver: 33 PTS, 12/15 FGs, 4/5 3Ps, 5/6 FTs
Melo’s 2nd Q in New York: 25 PTS, 10/12 FGs, 3/5 3Ps, 2/2 FTs pic.twitter.com/z0lJqQn6VU

— CTRL the Narrative (@ctrlnarrative) June 2, 2025

No. 48 – Russell Westbrook

While Westbrook only spent one season in Denver, he still classifies as a Nugget who cracked the list. While he wasn’t his prime self throughout the 2024-25 season, he still had plenty of good moments for the Nuggets, especially in the first round of the playoffs. He averaged 13.3/4.9/6.1 splits in his one season in Denver.

His top-100 nomination is mostly thanks to his time with Oklahoma City, but he still showed some flashes in Denver that the elite talent was still there even if the athleticism was not. However, some big-time blunders down the stretch in the season is what he’ll be remembered for.

Russell Westbrook Round 1 tape

13.8 PPG
4.8 RPG
2.8 APG
1.3 SPG
25.6 MPG
41.9 3P%

Year 17. pic.twitter.com/HfCLzpXWcK

— Pitless (@pitlessball) May 4, 2025

No. 17 – Nikola Jokic

Jokic’s landing spot is the most intriguing out of anyone else from the Nuggets who made the list. This ranking has him just above Dirk Nowitzki and David Robinson but just below Kevin Garnett. Remember, Jokic has only played 10 seasons in the NBA, so he has plenty of time to get himself a better ranking on this list.

Jokic is a three-time MVP and has finished in the top-two in voting in each of the last five seasons. He won the Finals MVP in 2023 as he led the Nuggets to the franchise’s first title, and became just the third player in NBA history to average a triple double for an entire season this past year. He is without a doubt the greatest Nugget in history, and still has plenty of time left in his prime to try and bring another title back to Denver.

He has made seven consecutive All-NBA and All-Star teams and averaged 21.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in his time in Denver. However, those total numbers don’t do him justice, as he didn’t truly break onto the scene until his third year in the league.

He breaks a new record every night, and is someone that Nuggets fans should never take for granted.

31 POINTS.
21 REBOUNDS.
22 ASSISTS.

THE FIRST-EVER 30+ PT, 20+ REB, 20+ AST GAME IN NBA HISTORY 🚨

NIKOLA JOKIĆ IS TRULY SOMETHING SPECIAL. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/I982bZePiF

— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2025

Some guys like Fat Lever and David Thompson do have an argument to be on this list, but there are just too many talented players who have graced this league in its history. While those guys aren’t necessarily snubs, it would’ve been good to see them sneak onto the list instead of guys like Dave Bing or Bill Sharman.