The last full moon of 2016 rose on the evening of December 14, 2016. The lunar cycle controls the tides, but the effects aren’t as visible in Denver, far from the ocean shores.
But this full moon was different, because the following day, the Nuggets would unearth their next franchise superstar in the second-year center from Serbia, Nikola Jokic.
On December 15, Nuggets coach Michael Malone moved Jusuf Nurkic to the bench, inserting Nikola Jokic in the starting lineup alonside Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. A month later, the Nuggets would blow out the Pacers, 140-112 in London.