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Denver Nuggets
Overall: 101
Title track: 116
Ownership: 95
Coaching: 85
Players: 94
Fan relations: 104
Affordability: 66
Stadium experience: 89
Bang for the buck: 87
Change from last year: +18
In 2013, George Karl was let go by the Nuggets after 57 wins and an NBA Coach of the Year award. Denver has not won more than 36 games in the three seasons since. Gone are Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala, staples under Karl. Long gone is Carmelo Anthony, who was traded during the 2010-11 campaign after six first-round playoff exits in seven full seasons in the Mile High City. Man, even the first round sounds pretty good right about now, doesn't it?
What's good
Which Nuggets player would you pay to see? Sure, Emmanuel Mudiay, a former seventh overall pick, has promise. Kenneth Faried is fun. And there's new lottery pick Jamal Murray. But that trio isn't filling seats. No one is packing the house to see Nikola Jokic or Danilo Gallinari (sorry, fellas) like they did to see Melo. But to its credit, Denver has adjusted, keeping its costs low to get fans in seats. That was reflected in a 19-spot improvement in affordability. An average ticket to the Pepsi Center is slightly below NBA average, and the average cost per game is only $60.32 (less than half what it takes just to get in the building in New York).
What's bad
Put it this way: There are only six teams below the Nuggets in title track (116th), and two of them are the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions. Even the Brooklyn Nets, whose next first-round pick comes at the end of the decade, are two spots ahead of Denver. Sadly for Coloradans, that makes sense. Since cutting ties with Karl, the Nuggets have hired and fired Brian Shaw and replaced him with Mike Malone. They have yet to identify their next franchise cornerstone. Mudiay landed on the All-Rookie second team but wasn't a knockout, and the team's leading scorer was Gallinari, who has played a combined 112 games the past three seasons. As a result, the Nuggets have landed squarely in the NBA's Siberia: not good enough to contend ... and not bad enough to win the lottery.
What's new
Coaching (at No. 85) and players (at 94) improved 22 and 25 spots, respectively. Although it's true the Nuggets aren't on a title track, as we say in these rankings, they have made some positive changes. Malone is a veteran NBA coach who is defense-first and looks to instill a more functional environment than Shaw, who underperformed relative to expectations that he would be the NBA's next hot coach. Alongside Mudiay, the Nuggets have added Murray, the lottery pick out of Kentucky who declared himself the best player in the draft prior to his being selected. The good news for Denver fans? He just might be right.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers | Full rankings