Lever’s jersey to be retired
Lafayette “Fat” Lever thought he had been invited back to Denver to attend the Nuggets’ preseason finale Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder and interact with the team.
Then, when team president Josh Kroenke brought Lever onto the floor after shootaround, he thought he was being “punked.”
Kroenke unveiled a Lever No. 12 jersey and asked how Lever would feel about that hanging from the Pepsi Center rafters.
The Nuggets will officially retire Lever’s jersey this season, an honor that left the former all-star and triple-double specialist stunned and appreciative.
“It came out of the blue,” Lever said shortly after the announcement. “The ones who need to keep a secret, they got
involved, because I had no idea. As I stand here, I’m still in shock.”
The ceremony will take place during the Nuggets’ Dec. 2 contest against the Lakers and is part of the organization’s season-long 50th anniversary celebration. Lever will become the sixth Nugget to have his jersey retired, joining Byron Beck’s No. 40, Alex English’s No. 2, Dan Issel’s No. 44, Dikembe Mutombo’s No. 55 and David Thompson’s No. 33. Legendary coach Doug Moe and his 432 career victories are also hanging from the rafters.
“With what Fat Lever has meant to this team, this city and our community for the past 30plus years, it makes perfect sense to honor him by retiring his jersey during this special season,” Kroenke said in a release. “He is not only one of the best Nuggets in franchise history, but a great ambassador of Denver basketball as well. It is going to be an honor to have his jersey hanging in our arena.”
Lever averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game during his Nuggets career from 1984-90. A twotime all-star, Lever ranks first alltime in franchise history in steals (1,167), second in assists (3,566), seventh in points (8,081) and eighth in rebounds (3,621). He totaled 46 triple-doubles with the Nuggets, leading the NBA in that category with 16 in 1986-87.
While spearheading Moe’s fast-paced system, Lever advanced to the playoffs all six of his seasons in Denver and reached the Western Conference Finals in 1985.
“Fat Lever, for his size, had a huge heart and impacted the game in so many ways — scoring, rebounding, steals, defense,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And he was here when they were good. He wasn’t putting those numbers up on bad teams.”
As Lever spotted the Nuggets’ iconic “Lunch-Bucket Brigade” poster in general manager Arturas Kanisovas’ office, memories flooded back from his time in Denver. He most cherishes the camaraderie from those years, adding he still keeps in touch with several of his former teammates.
After his playing career, Lever was the director of player development and a broadcaster with the Sacramento Kings from 2007-14, including one season working under Malone during his head-coaching stint with that organization. Lever resides in Phoenix, where he is a consultant in the energy field and works with the Jr. NBA program.
But Lever assures that “Dec. 2 is an open date for me.” That night, he’ll watch his jersey rise into the Pepsi Center rafters.
Starting at PG is …? After resting during Sunday’s preseason contest at San Antonio, Jamal Murray started at point guard.
Does that give a clue that Murray has also won the starting job for next Wednesday’s season opener at Utah? Not necessarily, Malone said.
“I have a good indication of who I’m going to go with,” Malone said after shootaround Tuesday morning. “But we still have (Tuesday night) and several more practices to make that final decision.”
Melo a division rival. Carmelo Anthony has returned to Denver several times since he was traded from the Nuggets in 2011. But Tuesday marked Anthony’s first Pepsi Center visit as a member of the division-rival Thunder, after the New York Knicks traded him to Oklahoma City right before training camp began.
Anthony did not speak to reporters Tuesday. But Thunder coach Billy Donovan commended Anthony’s early presence, leadership and voice with his new team.
“He’s a Hall of Fame player,” Donovan said. “I wasn’t with him when he was here or in New York, but he kind of adjusts to his environment and figures out what value he can bring and how he can help a team.”