The 2008–09 Denver Nuggets season was the 42nd season of the franchise, 33rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished the regular season with 54 wins and 28 losses, the franchise's best record since 1987–88. In the playoffs, the Nuggets defeated New Orleans Hornets in five games in the first round; this series included a notable 58-point bludgeoning of the Hornets in Game 4. The Nuggets then defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Semi-finals to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1985, ending their streak of five straight first-round exits. However, the Nuggets lost to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, ending their playoff run.^{[citation needed]} This was the second straight year the Nuggets had their season ended by the Lakers.

The Nuggets' six-game loss to the Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference finals matched their six game defeat in the 1978 Western Conference finals for the closest the franchise had ever come to reaching an NBA Finals until 2023.^[1]

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City.
• July 1: The free agency period started.

During the first week of the season, superstar guard Allen Iverson was traded in a blockbuster deal to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. McDyess was released soon after the trade.

The Denver Nuggets had no draft picks in the 2008 NBA draft, but did acquire the draft rights of Sonny Weems from the Chicago Bulls. Weems was the 39th pick of the draft.