Friday Faceoff: After crushing exits by the Avalanche and Nuggets, what is the most painful playoff loss in Denver sports history?

Paul Klee, sports editor

Answer: 2009 Nuggets

Unlike the parade calendar here, this list is growing. 

Sorry to say, Denver Fan has options — and tiers.

Living death: 1987 Broncos (Redskins, blown out as a 3-point favorite), 1996 Broncos (Jags), 2012 Broncos (Rahim Moore), 2013 Broncos (Seahawks), 2026 Avalanche (Golden Knights, Tuesday).

Ouch, but you survived: 1976 Nuggets (vs. the Nets in the ABA Finals, Woody says), 1989 Buffs (Notre Dame), 2025 Avalanche (Mikko Rantanen’s Game 7), 2026 Nuggets (Timberwolves, two weeks ago).

Fun while it lasted: 2021 Rapids (the MLS Cup’s No. 1 seed), 2013 Nuggets (Warriors), 2007 Rockies (a World Series that seems incomprehensible now).

The criteria: Which playoff loss hit like the end of an era, crushing the best shot at a championship in a generation? My choice is the 2009 Nuggets, who lost a wild series in the Western Conference finals to Kobe Bryant and the always-in-the-way Lakers.

Melo’s misfits were the first Nuggets outfit since Alex English that could claim it was the best team in the NBA for a long stretch of time. Prior to the postseason, the Nuggets went on a 13-1 run that had Pepsi Center buzzing. Then came a pair of dominant 4-1 series in the playoffs.

Two ill-timed in-bounds errors doomed the Nuggets in a six-game series. Nikola Jokic was 14, so Denver didn’t know its basketball savior was en route.

Maybe it was the cool presence of Chauncey Billups, or the way Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin bullied an NBA that long had bullied the Nuggets.

Playoff pain was the 2009 Nuggets.

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Kyle Fredrickson, Broncos writer

Answer: 2007 Rockies 

Do you recall the magic of Rocktober?  

The most exciting period of baseball at Blake and 20th streets in LoDo took place in the fall of 2007 when Colorado stunned the big leagues. The Rockies were 6.5 games behind the Padres in mid-September for the final National League playoff spot. That’s when it happened.  

A whopping 21 victories over 22 games. There were plenty of iconic moments along the way. Matt Holliday’s slide into home. Todd Helton raising his arms in celebration. I was a teenager in Fort Collins, gathering around the TV with friends, watching each game with the hype building. Incredible memories. 

Except, of course, for how it all ended.  

The Rockies were swept by the Red Sox in the World Series. An incredible winning streak punctuated by four consecutive losses. A total collapse that feels worse when you consider this uncomfortable truth: The Rockies will never come closer to winning a championship. 

It will take a minor miracle for the Rockies to escape the NL West basement. The gap between the haves and have-nots in baseball is growing larger every season. Their only real hope is a salary cap that ultimately levels the MLB playing field. But none of that will matter if the Rockies don’t fix their farm system or keep missing on lucrative free agent signings (see: Kris Bryant).  

That’s what makes the 2007 season so disappointing in retrospect. Rocktober gave fans their best memories. But failing to win their only World Series appearance is a pain that never goes away.