Since the first NBA season — well, I suppose every player was a rookie that season — so, since the second NBA season ever, there has been rookie initiation. Every single season. A time-honored tradition. Just part of the game. Hey, rook, do this!

Well, before Monday’s game, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw told a story about rookie Jusuf Nurkic. It was told in a way to make the writers chuckle, but I heard the story differently from that.

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“There are things the guys want to do to him because he’s a rookie, but in my estimation, they’re afraid to do it because he’s a big guy and they don’t want to challenge him,” Shaw said. “Such as wearing the Barbie backpacks they make (rookies) wear. So he refuses to do that. The way it used to be handled in the old days? All the vets would get together and they’d physically make you do it. And I don’t think anyone wants to wrestle that bear.”

So we all laughed — Nurkic is such a headstrong dude, he ain’t wearing a kid’s backpack!

But here’s how I heard it: The Nuggets’ veterans are such wimps, that they can’t get a 20-year-old rookie to do something every rookie has done since Dolph Schayes. Or, perhaps, the Nuggets’ veterans just don’t care enough to really make him do it.

You think Kevin Garnett would let this happen? Chauncey Billups? You think this would happen on any team with any sort of leader?

This isn’t about the backpack. It’s about what this backpack anecdote represents.

It’s what we’ve seen all season. The Nuggets don’t have leadership.

In the front office, there have been numerous ill-fated moves that led to a roster I’ve bemoaned since media day. On the bench, Shaw seems lost amid the losses. And on the court? No leadership. They play in spurts.

I’m sick of these guys. In Monday’s 124-114 home loss to Oklahoma City, the Thunder scored 106 points through three quarters. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 106 points were the Thunder’s most through three quarters since the team moved to Oklahoma City.

“It’s human nature. We get down, we get down on ourselves, and then it’s easy to kind of bail out at times,” Shaw said. “Let’s go down swinging.”

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Swinging. Kicking and screaming. Whatever you call it, it’s a theme in this town, huh?

Look, here’s one of the reasons Denver fired George Karl. In the summer of 2013, he was entering a contract season, and the Nuggets weren’t ready to commit to him long term. So instead of letting him play out a probably tough 2013-14 season, they figured they would just cut ties with him before that season.

Well, what is Shaw showing Nuggets management so they should stick with him long term? Denver has lost 13 of its past 14 games. Since management told me they’ll back Shaw all season, Denver has lost four consecutive games. In the past they said: Why go with Karl in 2013-14? Well, why go with Shaw for the rest of this season? At this point, it’s something to consider. Assistant Melvin Hunt could coach out this debacle of a season. Then find a new coach to build the rebuilding Nuggets in the summer.

I went up to the worst seats and found the best fans rooting for the worst team. In the last row of Section 346, Lucas Pollock and a buddy said it best: “We’re Nuggets fans through and through, but it’s harder when you know that you don’t even have a chance sometimes. … I love the team, but sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. It’s frustrating, and we’re not even in contention and it’s not even the all-star break. This organization needs to be jump-started. … I feel like we’re kind of stagnant right now. We’re not really going anywhere. We’re missing something. We’re behind. We’re in the Western Conference.”

Since 1980, only five times has a team made it to the NBA Finals without a top-six draft pick. Those five? Twice it was the Utah Jazz with Karl Malone and John Stockton. Twice it was the Portland Trail Blazers with Clyde Drexler. And the fifth gets an asterisk — it’s the 1982-83 76ers, who had Julius Erving (who came from the ABA) and Moses Malone (who bypassed the draft as a high schooler).

Moreover, every champion has had multiple top-six picks except for the Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs and the Shaquille O’Neal Los Angeles Lakers.

I’ve said it. Woody Paige has said it. Lucas in Section 346 has said it. Break it down. Build it back up. Starting yesterday.

Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/hochman