How Denver Nuggets Milestones is played

Every card in this deck carries a hidden value on the same scale — release years and dates — and the run is one long sorting problem. The first card is dealt face up. Each card after it goes into the gap where you think it belongs, and the value only shows once it lands. Get it wrong three times and the run ends with whatever you had placed.

This deck can also be shuffled together with any other deck measured in release years and dates — tick several on the deck tree to build one longer timeline out of them.

What's in the deck

26 of the 26 cards you could be dealt. The values stay hidden until you place them.

Founded as the Denver Rockets One of the ABA's charter franchises tips off in the new league
Renamed the Denver Nuggets The club drops its Rockets name ahead of a hoped-for NBA merger
Drafted David Thompson The high-flying North Carolina State star is signed away from the NBA
Joined the NBA The franchise is absorbed in the ABA-NBA merger
First NBA division title In their debut NBA season they win the Midwest Division
Thompson scores 73 David Thompson erupts on the season's final day in a scoring-title duel with Gervin
Acquired Alex English The future Hall of Fame scorer arrives in a trade from Indiana
Hired Doug Moe The fast-paced, run-and-gun coach takes over the bench
Triple-overtime 186-184 loss They lose the highest-scoring game in NBA history to the Pistons
Reached the West finals behind Moe's offense Behind Moe's offense they push to the conference finals before falling to the Lakers
Won a franchise-best 54 games Moe's high-scoring squad captures the Midwest Division
Drafted Dikembe Mutombo The shot-blocking center from Georgetown is taken fourth overall
First 8-seed to beat a 1-seed Mutombo and company stun the 63-win SuperSonics in a first-round upset
Pepsi Center opens The team moves into a new downtown arena
Drafted Carmelo Anthony The Syracuse champion is taken third overall
Hired George Karl The veteran coach takes over midseason
Traded for Allen Iverson The Answer arrives from Philadelphia to pair with Anthony
Reached the West finals behind Billups and Anthony Chauncey Billups and Anthony lead a deep playoff run
Traded Carmelo Anthony The star forces his way to the Knicks in a blockbuster deal
Won a franchise-record 57 games George Karl is named Coach of the Year
Drafted Nikola Jokic A second-round pick from Serbia is announced during a Taco Bell commercial
Drafted Jamal Murray The Kentucky guard is taken seventh overall
Erased two 3-1 deficits in the bubble In the Florida restart they rally past the Jazz and Clippers
Jokic wins his first MVP The center becomes the lowest-drafted MVP ever
Jokic wins back-to-back MVP He repeats as the league's Most Valuable Player
Won the NBA championship Jokic leads the franchise past the Heat for its first title