DENVER, Colorado — Peyton Watson was one of the star’s of the Nuggets Championship parade and he’ll no doubt be the star of Denver’s summer league team. The 2022 first-round pick is still the youngest player on the roster!
“I just feel a sense of comfortability,” smiled Watson as he talked with the media at the Nuggets first summer league practice. “Coming in last year, my back was against the wall. I had everything to prove. And I’m still proving things but I found a place where I fit, where they embrace me so now it’s about getting better and continuing to help us win.”
Denver’s summer league Head Coach John Beckett has sensed Watson’s hunger, “Peyton’s always been very confident. Always wanted to play, so now he’s getting the opportunity to get out there and a lot of the offense will revolve around him. Defensively he’ll take the challenge of guarding a lot of the opposing team’s best players. So you can definitely see the hunger in him.”
With Bruce Brown signing with the Pacers, there is a golden opportunity for the now second year player from UCLA, “[Bruce] was my neighbor, so I’ll miss seeing him in the morning on the way to work, but it definitely means opportunity for me and the rest of the guys on the team. Obviously there’s a next man up mentality and we just gotta focus on who’s here, what we got, getting better and getting back to the same point next year.”
Watson played a big role down the stretch of the regular season, giving guys like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. rest. But just filling in at the end of the season is not the goal for Watson, “I’m still making a name for myself in this league, but as far as this organization, everybody knows the work that I put in last year, the dues that I paid. So this year, just having a little more of a voice and having that experience means the world.”