The team has had some periods of success, qualifying for the ABA playoffs in every season of the ABA's existence (except 1971 and 1974), losing in the 1976 ABA Finals to the New York Nets.[17] The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine consecutive seasons in the 1980s and ten consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2013.[17] In 2023, the Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, reached their first NBA Finals and defeated the Miami Heat to capture the franchise's first NBA championship. The Nuggets were the last of the four surviving former ABA teams to reach the NBA Finals, and the second former ABA team to win an NBA title (after the San Antonio Spurs).[17][18] The Nuggets play their home games at Ball Arena,[4] which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
^"Nuggets Unveil 50th Anniversary Logo in Celebration of Franchise's 50th Year". Nuggets.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 14, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2024. The date June 14, 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the franchise's creation. In 1967, the Ringsby family was able to post a performance bond payout to take over ownership of the then American Basketball Association team cementing a basketball franchise in Denver.
^"Denver Nuggets unveil new look". NBA.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 6, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
^"Josh Kroenke–Nuggets Executives"(PDF). 2021–22 Denver Nuggets Media Guide. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
^"December to Remember". Nuggets.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 3, 2014. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
^"Behind The Name – Nuggets". Nuggets.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. August 31, 2006. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.