7 Great Memories From Hall Of Famer Dan Issel's Career

DENVER (CBS4) - Lifelong Denver Nuggets fan Vic Lombardi calls Dan Issel's team's upset of George Karl's Sonics "one of the greatest moments in sports history."

Issel was a star on the Nuggets and then became the coach for several seasons. He's also a Hall of Famer.

Issel appeared on Xfinity Monday Live this week and answered several questions about his years as a Nuggets player and coach. The following are his responses to seven of Lombardi's questions about his NBA career during the show.

1. What do you miss most -- and what has changed the most -- about the NBA since your playing days?
I think the athleticism. I think that fundamentally we probably played a little better brand of basketball than is played today but the kids are such great athletes, the way they can run the floor and jump. They're just head and shoulders above us physically.

2. You played 25 years of organized basketball and only one losing record in those years?
I was blessed. I played on some very good teams. Played with some very good coaches. And it's a lot more fun to win. Those 24 years were a whole lot better than that one year.

3. You would exaggerate the pump fake. It's something you don't see much anymore. Why was that such a big part of your game?
Thankfully the people kept going for it. If they had stopped going for my pump fake I would've been out of the NBA in about 15 minutes.

4. Who was the most difficult player you ever had to guard in your career?
I'm going to say Moses Malone. Kareem was great, but I played a style that Kareem wasn't used. I could take him out on the floor and he wasn't very comfortable. But Moses Malone had the quickness to come out and guard me on the floor and he had the quickness around the basket. He was tough. I'd say Moses Malone with Kareem a close second.

5. How did you get the nickname The Horse?
It was given to my by Bob King, who worked for the Nuggets organization. I stumbled on a pretty good game one night and the sportswriter said I played like a thoroughbred. Bob King came in the locker room the next day and said 'I thought it was more like a Clydesdale' and Clydesdale became horse and that's where I got it.

RELATED: Issel Predicts Next Nuggets Coach Won't Be A Big Name

6. Who was your favorite player on your teams when you were coaching the Nuggets?
I had such great kids ... Antonio McDyess, Brian Stith, Dikembe Mutombo. But I'd have to say my favorite was LaPhonso Ellis.

7. You were one of the few players who was never afraid to play with your two front teeth. When did you lose those?
I lost them when I was in junior high. I was in gym class and I slipped on the floor and my mouth was the first thing that hit. And the school nurse grabbed my teeth and took me to the dentist. I've got blood pouring down the front of me, and my mother was sitting in the dentist chair. But it never bothered me. It made it easier for me to breathe, so I didn't care what I looked like.

Watch more video with Issel in the Xfinity Monday Live section.