BERNIE BICKERSTAFF SHARES BIGGEST REGRET FROM DENVER: “NOT RE-SIGNING DIKEMBE MUTOMBO”

The Denver Nuggets let their franchise player walk away during the summer of 1996, and the man who was then in charge of the team, Bernie Bickerstaff, still feels bad about that. In an interview via ESPN, Bickerstaff said that the only regret he had as the GM of the Nuggets was not being able to re-sign Dikembe Mutombo.

Mutombo was Denver’s 4th overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft after starring at Georgetown where he teamed up with Alonzo Mourning to form Rejection Row, one of the most feared frontcourt duos in NCAA history. He brought his shot-blocking skills to Denver and led the league in swats during three of his five seasons in Mile High City.

“In negotiations with the Nuggets, Mutombo’s agent, David Falk, was seeking a 10-year deal,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s something we should have done. We tried. We offered it, but ownership didn’t want to go that far out, in terms of a 10-year deal. It’s like when Magic got that long deal, everyone was asking ‘Why would you do that?’ That was a terrific deal when you start talking about the present value of money. But that’s really the only regret you had, that you didn’t (re-sign) him. Falk tried to work with us in terms of trying to acquire other players (to clear money). The organization at the time just didn’t have the resources. It’s that simple.”

Nuggets were first ever 8th seed to beat a No. 1 team

The Nuggets would rise to prominence in 1994 when they knocked out the Seattle Super Sonics in the first round of the Playoffs as a No. 8 seed. In the history of the Playoffs, only five No. 8 seeds have beaten a top seed. Denver was the first to accomplish this epic feat.

During the best of five series, Denver came from a 0-2 deficit to win the next three games and eliminate the top-seeded Sonics. Mutombo set the tone for Denver’s miraculous comeback as he recorded an NBA playoff record 31 blocks in the five-game series. The image of Mutombo holding on the ball over his head in celebration is one of the NBA’s most memorable moments.

The following season, Denver failed to recapture the magic from their 1994 playoff run. Coach Dan Issel resigned after 34 games, while LaPhonso Ellis would play only 6 games due to injury. The Nuggets finished as the 8th seed once again with a 41-41 record, but were swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs. Mutombo won his first Defensive Player of the Year award.

Mount Mutombo averaged a career-high 4.5 blocks per game during the 1996 season, but the Nuggets missed the Playoffs. He became a free agent during the offseason, and that’s when Denver decided to just let him walk away.

Mutombo never got an offer from the Nuggets

Before the season was over, there were already reports that the Nuggets won’t be re-signing Mutombo because he wanted a long-term deal. When the season ended, he claimed that he never got an offer from Denver.

“I didn’t get an offer,” Mutombo told the Denver Post. “Today we see the superstar of a team getting an offer even before the season is done. But the Denver organization said, ‘You know what, we thank you for your five years, but we don’t want nothing to do with you again.’ It was shocking.”

That summer, Mutombo would sign a five-year $55 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks and continue his dominance on defense away from Denver.

“When I went to Atlanta, we would start winning more than 57 games a season. So I took a step back, and I was like, ‘Why did they let me go? What did they not see in me?’ Nobody really came forward from the organization to say what was the motive.”

Mutombo would win three more Defensive Player of the Year awards and played until he was 42 years old. He retired as the No. 2 all-time in career blocks. Meanwhile, Denver would miss the playoffs in each of the next eight seasons, and it would take 10 years after Mutombo’s iconic image that they would win another playoff game. 

2023-05-29T22:29:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd