Over the ensuing 18 seasons, none of the four managed to reach the NBA Finals, but two -- the Nuggets and Spurs -- clearly emerged as the class of the quartet, sporting Hall of Famers such as David Thompson, George Gervin, Dan Issel, David Robinson, Alex English and Artis Gilmore while missing the playoffs only a combined eight times in 36 total seasons.
But in the 20 years since, let's just say the paths have diverged rather dramatically for the Nuggets and Spurs. Here's a tale of the tape of what's transpired for the two franchises over the past two decades (Warning, Nuggets fans, this isn't pretty):
- Winning seasons: Spurs 19, Nuggets 10
- 50-win seasons: Spurs 18, Nuggets 5
- 50-loss seasons: Nuggets 4, Spurs 1
- Playoff berths: Spurs 19, Nuggets 11
- Division titles: Spurs 13, Nuggets 3
- Playoff games: Spurs 264, Nuggets 67
- Playoff games won: Spurs 163, Nuggets 22
- Playoff series wins: Spurs 35, Nuggets 2
- Western Conference titles: Spurs 6, Nuggets 0
- NBA titles: Spurs 5, Nuggets 0
- Head coaches: Nuggets 11, Spurs 2
- All-Star Game selections: Spurs 28, Nuggets 11
- Regular season head-to-head wins: Spurs 63, Nuggets 25
- Postseason head-to-head wins: Spurs 13, Nuggets 2
- Top-20 draft picks: Nuggets 10, Spurs 2
- Top-five draft picks: Nuggets 4, Spurs 1
- All-NBA players drafted: Spurs 3, Nuggets 1
Hey, just sayin' . . .
