Dan Issel had a knack for scoring the pill.
His legend began at the University of Kentucky, where he averaged 25.8 points per game, peaking at a 33.9 scoring average as a senior. He totalled 2,138 points in his collegiate career, a number that still stands as Kentucky’s all-time scoring record.
Issel was drafted in the first round of the 1970 ABA draft, and his scoring prowess immediately translated to the next level. He averaged 29.9 points per game as a rookie, which led the league. Unsurprisingly, that earned him a selection to the 1971 ABA All-Star Game, and he was honored as the co-Rookie of the Year at the end of the 1970-71 season.
That ridiculous scoring average jumped even higher in 1971-72. His 30.6 points per game placed him on the All-ABA First Team, and Issel made the All-Star Team for the second consecutive season. He was named the All-Star Game MVP after putting up 21 points and 9 rebounds. Issel also finished as the runner-up in 1971-72 ABA Most Valuable Player voting.
Issel won his first-ever ABA Championship with the Colonels in 1975, scoring a game-high 21 points in Game 4 to give his team a 3-1 series advantage.
That offseason, he was traded to the Nuggets and immediately made an impact.
Denver led the entire ABA with a 60-24 record, and Issel averaged 22.9 points, seventh best in the ABA. He also made the 1976 ABA All-Star Team.
Altogether, in his time with the Colonels and Nuggets in the ABA, Issel was a six-time ABA All-Star. He also led the ABA in total points in a season three times, setting a record for total points (2,538) in 1971-72.
The 1976 ABA-NBA merger brought the Nuggets to the NBA, and in his first NBA season, Issel made the 1977 All-Star Team by averaging 22.3 points on 51.1 percent shooting and 8.8 rebounds. Issel and the Nuggets made the postseason in their first three NBA seasons.
In nine NBA seasons, all with the Nuggets, Issel averaged 20.4 points on 50 percent from the field and just shy of 8 rebounds per game. Issel played center in all of those seasons, but the wear and tear that typically comes with playing that position did not seem to affect him.
Incredibly, Issel missed only 24 total games in his professional career, which spanned 15 seasons in the ABA and NBA. He was given the nickname “The Horse” because of his absurd durability.
Issel eventually retired in 1984-85, leaving quite a mark on the Nuggets’ all-time leaderboards.
- Third in total points (16,589)
- Second in total rebounds (6,630)
- Ninth in total assists (2,005)
- Fifth in total steals (798)
- Third in total field goals made (6,176)
- Second in total made two-pointers (6,156)
- First in total free throws made (4,217)
- Second in total games played (802)
- Second in total minutes played (25,198)
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