The Denver Nuggets have previously been involved in the NBA lottery 12 times in the 31 years since the lottery’s inception in 1985. The Nuggets have never “moved up” in the lottery, have “dropped down” eight times and retained their position four times during the annual pingu2010pong ball drop. Here is a look at how the club has fared in its 12 lottery experiences, including its preu2010lottery position, eventual draft and selection:
| Year | Pre-Lottery | Drafted | Movement | Selected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1st | 4th | Dropped down 3 | Dikembe Mutombo |
| 1992 | 4th | 5th | Dropped down 1 | LaPhonso Ellis |
| 1993 | 8th | 9th | Dropped down 1 | Rodney Rogers |
| 1996 | 10th | 10th | No movement | Erick Dampier * |
| 1997 | 4th | 5th | Dropped down 1 | Tony Battie |
| 1998 | 1st | 3rd | Dropped down 2 | Raef LaFrentz |
| 1999 | 4th | 5th | Dropped down 1 | Jonathan Bender ^ |
| 2000 | 10th | 10th | No movement | Keyon Dooling @ |
| 2001 | 11th | 11th | No movement | Kedrick Brown # |
| 2002 | 4th | 5th | Dropped down 1 | Nikoloz Tskitishvili |
| 2003 | 2nd | 3rd | Dropped down 1 | Carmelo Anthony |
| 2014 | 11th | 11th | No movement | Doug McDermott |
* Pick was traded to Indiana on 6/13/96, along with Jalen Rose and Reggie Williams, for Mark Jackson, Ricky Pierce and the 23rd pick of the 1996 Draft (Efthimios Rentzias
^ Pick was traded to Toronto as part of threeu2010team deal on 1/21/99.