One of the biggest “what-if” teams in basketball history is the 2009 Denver Nuggets. That squad was stacked with talent from top to bottom, but came up short against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. So, why couldn’t they get over the hump? According to former Nuggets star Kenyon Martin, the reason was coaching.
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Martin recently appeared on The OG podcast to reflect on the ’09 Nuggets and what could have been. The host, retired NBA star Mike Miller, admitted how fun that team was to watch, even if it wasn’t so fun facing them as an opponent.
Over the years, Denver kept building its roster, but the franchise didn’t make it back to the Finals until 2023. Still, Martin fondly remembers just how deadly that squad was, especially with Carmelo Anthony leading the charge.
“I’ve always called him my young in,” said Martin about Melo. “He’s always gonna be that right. He was in his second year when I got there. He grew up a lot when we were there.”
You could tell that he knew the team was special as he went down the line of the incredible talent that wore a Denver uniform. “Names, man. Andre Miller was the point guard when we first got there. Of course, JR, sixth man of the year, eventually. Bigs Marcus Camby, myself, Nene.”
Miller then brought up the ’09 Western Conference Finals, and Martin started going off on the Nuggets’ head coach at the time, George Karl. He claimed that if they had a smarter coach, they would have hoisted a trophy that year. “If we have a different coach, we win a championship, bro. No doubt about it. If we have a different coach that was well-rounded, the game and people. It just can’t be one part,” Martin stated.
“Did the man know basketball? Yeah, but it wasn’t in its totality.” He cited how in-game situations, like how many timeouts were left or knowing when to run a press, were core things that the team just “never worked on.”
Martin is far from the only player who butted heads with Karl. Melo was frustrated that the now 74-year-old coach was the main reason he developed a reputation for playing poor defense. Karl’s coaching style also rubbed J.R. Smith and NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton the wrong way. The Glove once said he thought about killing Karl on a daily basis, but never followed through, thanks to assistant coach Tim Grgurich.
Still, it’s easy to see why Martin is bitter all these years later. It’s incredibly hard to make a deep postseason run, let alone reach the Finals. That Denver team could have at least competed for a dynasty-type run. Instead, they didn’t earn true championship respect until The Joker arrived.
