The Denver Nuggets have had a lot of great players during the past 50 years, starting with David Thompson in the 1970s, then Alex English in the 1980s, and continuing to the present with Nikola Jokic. 1 of their 1st great players was Byron Beck, who played for the Denver Rockets in the ABA and stuck with them when they joined the NBA and changed their name to the Nuggets. He retired in 1977 and became the 1st player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Byron about making the ABA Finals in 1976 and then switching leagues. Today is Byron’s 77th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
You were nicknamed the “Moose in the Middle”: who gave you the nickname, and how did you like it? I got that in the 8th grade because I was the new kid. My classmate Joe Valdez saw me run over a couple of people so he called me “The Moose”.
You were a 3-time all-state selection at Kittitas High School and were later named to the Seattle Times All-Century team: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I was always 1 of the top 4-5 players so I knew that I was moderately good. I was a shy kid who was not cocky. I almost did not play basketball because I did not want to be out there in shorts: what I really wanted was to be a pro baseball player.
In 1967 as a senior at Denver you were named an AAU All-American: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It was a good confidence-builder to have such success.
In the summer of 1967 you were drafted 15th overall by the Denver Rockets (2 spots ahead of Phil Jackson): what did it mean to you to be drafted, and was it extra-special to stay in your same city? It was outstanding! It was nice to stay in the same location. Chicago also drafted me and offered the same amount of money but Denver offered me a no-cut contract, which helped make the difference.
You are 1 of 2 players (along with teammate Louie Dampier) who played for the same team during all 9 seasons of the ABA from 1967-1976: did you feel a strong sense of loyalty to the franchise, and why do you think that other players failed to do so? A lot of players eventually get involved with their community, but going to college there and being involved with the community from the start helped a lot. I liked the city: it was a small “big town” and I had a lot of friends in the area. I even met my wife there. It just all fell into place for me…but I think that money sometimes trumps loyalty.
What are your memories of Game 7 of the 1972 Western Division Semifinals (Ralph Simpson scored 30 PTS in a 2-PT loss to eventual champion Indiana)? That was a sad thing because we had a real shot at that. I used to guard George McGinnis quite often and enjoyed it: he was hard-nosed but I knew what to expect from him. It was the cheap-shot artist who was nasty to defend. Indiana had a lot of talented people and it was a great series.
Take me through the magical 1976 playoffs:
Your coach was Larry Brown: what made Brown such a great coach, and could you ever imagine that he would be a college assistant coach more than 45 years later?! Larry was a great coach/motivator. If you did not buy into his system (which a lot of the older players did not do because they did not want to pick up the pace) then you had problems, but if you hustled then it usually worked out. I still use some stuff from him today to help my grandkids in AAU ball. He is an original: I enjoyed playing with/against him as well as for him after he became my coach.
You scored 9 PTS in a 3-PT win over defending champ Kentucky in Game 1 of the semifinals after Dampier’s potential game-tying 3-PT shot was ruled to have been attempted after the buzzer: what was it like to play a game without a working scoreboard/clock? We kind of had to rely on our senses! I was just in awe of Louie: what a shooter. His shooting ability reminds me of Steph Curry: he would just come off a screen and stop/pop. He was not quick but knew how to get open.
David Thompson scored 40 PTS in a win over Kentucky in Game 7 in front of a playoff-record crowd of 18,821: where does Thompson rank among the greatest players that you ever saw, and how big of a home-court advantage did all of those fans give you? Home court advantage was big: our home record must have been fantastic that year. I was in awe of David: sometimes I caught myself standing around with my mouth open while watching him do all of his stuff. He had a huge vertical leap. I loved Bobby Jones: he reminded me of the runner in “Chariots of Fire”. We had some talent too with my roommate Dan Issel…although we got into a fight the week before!
You lost to the Nets in Game 6 of the Finals after blowing a 22-PT 3rd quarter lead: how devastating was that loss, and how did it feel to play in the very last game in ABA history? It was devastating: there was no reason for that to happen with the talent we had. Doctor J went nuts: we got so desperate that they had ME try to guard him! In his early years we would just let him shoot from the outside, but once he learned to make some jumpers it was all over. We got timid at the end and did not shoot with confidence. I truly believe that if we had won that game then we would have won Game 7.
You played 1 year for the Nuggets in the NBA after the ABA-NBA merger: what was the biggest difference between the 2 leagues? The referees! At the time they would call the game a little closer in the NBA. We had more finesse in the ABA, whereas the NBA was more physical. We brought some great things to the NBA like the 3-PT line, the run-and-gun offense, the halftime entertainment, etc. The red-white-and-blue ball was hard to catch in the 1st few years: we would go out to the highway and bounce the ball on the pavement to scratch it up!
In 1977 you became the 1st player in Denver franchise history to have his number retired: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is an important thing to be recognized in some manner. It helps you know that the work you put in was respected.
You later worked in security for a large company in southern Washington: what do you hope to do in the future? The future is here! I retired in 2012 after 33 years as a manager in operations security and am enjoying it. I wish that I would have retired a few years ago because now I get to spend a lot of time with my family.
