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aThe Denver Rockets was previously known as the Denver Larks, were a charter franchise in the American Basketball Association which was founded in the year 1967. The Rockets tended to struggle in the postseason before time and failed to play in a championship game. Byron Beck and Larry Jones led them as a solid lineup, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. Divisive rookie Spencer Haywood joined the Denver Nuggets for the year 196970 season. In Denver Nuggets Haywood was one of the first players to turn pro before graduating from college and the NBA initially refused to let him play in the league. According to records, Haywood averaged nearly about 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in his only ABA season, then breached his Denver contract by signing with the Seattle SuperSonics and jumping to the NBA.
In the year1974, in anticipation of moving into the NBA, the franchise held a contest to choose a new nickname for the team, as Rockets was already in use by the Houston Rockets. The name Nuggets won as the teams new nick, having been the nickname first used by the Denver 194950 NBA franchise.
Denver Nuggets continued their strong play early on in the NBA, as they won continuously, division titles in their first two seasons in the league, and unfortunately missed a third by a single game.
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