After a 16-year career that included four seasons with the Nuggets, Paul Millsap called it a career Tuesday.

The 39-year-old last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season with Philadelphia. Prior to that, the power forward was a key piece of the Nuggets’ teams that were developing into contenders in the Western Conference. Millsap made 215 appearances for the Nuggets, starting 186 of those contests. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds during his time in Denver.

“He was a guy that (was) one of the many examples of a guy that wasn’t here for the championship that was a big part of that championship,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said prior to Tuesday’s game against the Warriors. “I think that’s the best way you can kind of put it into terms. Even though he wasn’t here when we hung a banner, didn’t get a ring, Paul Millsap helped lay a foundation and establish a culture that allowed us to be a team that could win a championship.”

“His toughness, coming to work every day … I just feel really fortunate to know that I have a relationship with a guy like Sap.”

After his college career at Louisiana Tech, Utah drafted the 6-foot-7 forward with the 47th overall pick in the 2006 draft. He spent his first seven seasons with the Jazz before signing with Atlanta ahead of the 2013-14 season. He was an All-Star in each of his four seasons with the Hawks.

Then, Millsap bet on Denver’s young core, signing a multi-year contract with the Nuggets in 2017.The team narrowly missed the playoffs in his first season in Denver, but he helped the Nuggets advance to the second round in his second season. In Year 3 with the Nuggets, in the 2020 NBA bubble, Millsap helped Denver become the first team to come back from two 3-1 deficits in the same postseason.

Aaron Gordon’s arrival in the middle of the next season pushed Millsap back into a reserve role, and he signed with Brooklyn ahead of what turned out to be his final NBA season. 

Malone said he reached out to congratulate Millsap on a “hell of a career,” when he heard the news Tuesday.

“I feel really fortunate to have had a chance to get to know Paul Millsap and his family, to coach Paul Millsap,” Malone said.