The 2008–09 Denver Nuggets season was the 42nd season of the franchise, 33rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished the regular season with 54 wins and 28 losses, the franchise's best record since 1987–88. In the playoffs, the Nuggets defeated New Orleans Hornets in five games in the first round; this series included a notable 58-point bludgeoning of the Hornets in Game 4. The Nuggets then defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Semi-finals to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1985, ending their streak of five straight first-round exits. However, the Nuggets lost to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, ending their playoff run. This was the second straight year the Nuggets had their season ended by the Lakers. The Nuggets' six-game loss to the Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference finals matched their six-game defeat in the 1978 Western Conference finals for the closest the franchise had ever come to reaching an NBA Finals until 2023.

Key dates

During the first week of the season, superstar guard Allen Iverson was traded in a blockbuster deal to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. McDyess was released soon after the trade.

Draft picks

The Denver Nuggets had no draft picks in the 2008 NBA draft, but did acquire the draft rights of Sonny Weems from the Chicago Bulls. Weems was the 39th pick of the draft.

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Game log

19,111 11,418 19,651 18,194 19,175 14,359 10,753 20,562 18,624 16,721 14,413 16,559 18,997 16,202 14,934 15,563 14,197 17,201 14,243 15,866 12,322 14,007 15,322 19,969 17,737 19,155 18,422 18,611 20,007 19,155 19,763 17,131 18,879 18,613 19,614 14,255 15,459 19,682 14,158 18,073 19,749 18,199 15,164 17,895 11,338 15,792 18,463 18,536 18,332 20,173 17,697 16,784 17,461 15,979 21,970 14,891 19,784 18,418 19,920 12,458 22,076 16,801 19,911 12,678 16,020 16,186 18,676 16,223 11,087 18,231 18,422 17,274 20,310 19,155 17,851 17,969 17,880 16,839 16,536 18,997 15,823 20,652

Playoffs

Game log

19,536 19,623 17,489 17,236 19,744 19,631 19,890 20,620 20,523 19,962 18,997 18,997 19,939 20,037 18,997 20,053

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions