The former Nugget guard is still the team’s all-time leader in steals more than 30 years after he retired and is among the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists.

DENVER — Long before Nikola Jokic became the NBA’s premier triple-double player, Fat Lever became synonymous with the unique accomplishment.

“No comparison,’’ Lever said waving his arms back and forth across his body in deference to the Denver Nuggets’ current superstar. “No comparison.’’

Fine, Fat. Jokic is one of a kind. But Lever was a first of his kind as a do-it-all guard for the Denver Nuggets during the 1980s. Did you know that of the top 23 leaders in ABA/NBA career triple doubles, Lever, who still ranks 13th all time 32 years after he retired, is the only one not in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame?

Perhaps this needs to be corrected.

“Well, they’re doing it,’’ Lever said in a sit-down interview Thursday with 9NEWS. “ We’re in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. I’ll take that for now.”

Lever, who averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals a game during his six seasons with the Nuggets from 1984-90, was one of the six athletes inducted Thursday into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the Hilton Denver City Center hotel. The others were Broncos defensive back Steve Foley, Colorado Buffs quarterback Kordell Stewart, professional tennis champion Beatriz “Gigi” Fernandez, University of Denver basketball star Harry Hollines and Olympic middle-distance runner Wendy Koenig.

“It’s one of the true pleasures of my life,’’ Lever said. “To the point where I’ve always come back to Denver at different times and surrounding Colorado, but to come back in an atmosphere like this and bring my kids and family members and grandkids who have no idea who Fat Lever is but who Papa is, it’s a pleasure.”

To this day, Lever is still the Nuggets’ all-time leader with 1,167 steals and is third in assists with 3,566. He is also ninth in points and although he was only 6-foot-3, he ranks among the top 10 among the team’s all-time leaders in rebounds.

Alex English was the smooth scorer for those Nuggets’ teams. How did Lever decide to take the complete player route?

“It started in high school,’’ Lever said. “I had a conversation with you about Pueblo. In Arizona. We won back to back state championships in high school and all five players on our team played all positions. So I played center at times. I played point guard. And Jeff Moore, believe it or not, was the best player on our basketball team. He was 6-4, tallest guy on the team.

Pueblo went 28-0 in 1977-78, with Lever one of three players who averaged a triple double.

“That developed my all-around game and that carried over to everything I did in basketball,’’ Lever said.

More than once, Lever would slither between the trees and wind up with the rebound as the tall, hulking likes of Hakeem Olajuwan, Ralph Simpson, Charles Barkley and Kevin Willis looked on in disbelief.

“All the time. The biggest complainer was Hakeem Olajuwan,’’ Lever said with a laugh. “We were playing in my first All-Star Game, going to Chicago. And I was on the plane with him. He said, “Don’t take my rebound.” And I started laughing. I told him, ‘Just pass me the ball, I’ll shoot every time.”

Lever spent the afternoon Thursday with his family at the Denver Zoo. He otherwise lives in Phoenix where he oversees the National Basketball Retired Players Association and Legends of Basketball, both nonprofit organizations.

“We represent the ABA, the NBA and Harlem Globetrotters, supporting a myriad of events and also helping our retired players try to re-establish themselves and figure out what to do next,’’ Lever said.