LOS ANGELES — If you are playing college basketball and your career matriculates to becoming an upperclassman, you wear a sort of scarlet letter when it comes to the NBA and the draft process.
Plenty of players who were juniors, seniors, or even fifth-year guys in college have gone on to productive pro careers. You may even find a Tim Duncan at the top of a draft every once in a while. On the whole, however, the younger players — freshmen and sophomores — are more valued by the league due to their youth. You often see the juniors and seniors languishing at the end of the first round, lasting until the second round or going undrafted altogether.
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It makes for an interesting road for players such as Denver Nuggets rookie guard Julian Strawther. Here’s a guy who played three years at Gonzaga, one of the very best programs in the country. He went from a four-star recruit out of Las Vegas to averaging three points a game his freshman season, playing behind eventual first-round pick and current Washington Wizards shooter Corey Kispert. Strawther then triples that production in his sophomore season, becomes one of the better players in the country as a junior and hits one of the more famous shots of recent NCAA Tournament history, a 35-foot pull-up against UCLA to win an instant classic.
“That was definitely a ‘No. No! Yes!’ shot,” Strawther told The Athletic in an interview.
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Strawther, who averaged 15.2 points and shot 40.8 percent from 3 as a junior last season, is the kind of 6-foot-7 two-way wing the NBA normally covets. And yet, he wasn’t projected as a lottery or a mid-first-round draft pick, nor was he even a guaranteed late first-rounder. The Athletic’s NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie ranked Strawther No. 46 on his 2023 NBA Draft Big Board. But Strawther caught Denver general manager Calvin Booth’s eye early in the draft process, and Booth traded into the first round to get him.
To the Nuggets, Strawther, Christian Braun, Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett represent undervalued players in the draft process who will hopefully supplement the core of Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray as Denver begins its defense of an NBA title next Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Braun has already broken out; he was terrific last postseason in that title run. Strawther has been stellar this preseason and is pushing to earn minutes in coach Michael Malone’s opening-night rotation.
“I think it’s a credit to the organization that I’m in this position,” Strawther said. “They have the right mindset in terms of growth and development. I feel like this was the best thing for me. I think people have taken the value out of more years in college.
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“I played for Gonzaga, and that’s a high profile program. I didn’t play much my freshman year, but I continued to grow and continued to work and get better. I just think the value of guys who stay and school and work on their craft is getting lost.”
Strawther has had an eye-opening preseason. He was good during training camp week and a standout in multiple team scrimmages. He was somehow better than that when the games started, shooting 51 percent from the field during the preseason while averaging 17.8 points per game. He shot 45 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line. He defended well, using his length and lateral quickness to stay in front of opponents.
Once the regular season begins, the Nuggets will need to replace Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, two stalwarts in Malone’s rotation during Denver’s championship run. They were veterans and versatile players who could be counted on every night. Malone knows that he can fall back on is one of the best starting fives in the league. He also knows – and all but confirmed after Thursday night’s 103-90 win over the LA Clippers in Denver’s preseason finale — that Braun will open the regular season as the Nuggets’ sixth man. Veteran Reggie Jackson will probably be the primary backup point guard. Zeke Nnaji seems in line to be the backup center for Jokić.
There should be minutes for one more player in the immediate rotation, and Strawther has made a terrific case to be the guy. His shooting hasn’t been a surprise; he’s been a quality shooter for three years at Gonzaga. His ability to move without the ball and slide into open spaces hasn’t been a surprise. He spent his collegiate years playing with Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme, two excellent passing big men. The surprise is that Strawther has been able to play at the two guard, as he was mainly a small forward and even played some at the power forward spot in college. With the Nuggets, his game off the dribble has stood out as well.
“His shooting,” Malone said. “If you want to simplify it, it’s his shooting. Hubie Brown once said that shooting makes up for a multitude of sins. He can shoot it with range. He’s been shooting it with confidence, and he’s shot the ball efficiently.
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“But I don’t want him to be a one trick pony, and I won’t allow him to be a one trick pony. I want him to make open shots and attack closeouts. He’s got good size and feet. He can defend and not allow people to go at him. He’s impressed me with his level of competitive spirit on the defensive end.”
What Strawther has to do is prove what he showed in the preseason can translate into the regular season. Even if he doesn’t make the rotation on Tuesday night, he’s going to find an opportunity somewhere down the road. Losing Brown and Green means Malone will be searching for productive minutes from his bench. That kind of endeavor almost always leads to fluidity within rotations and lineups.
At the very least, Strawther has caught the attention of his coaching staff. In totality, he’s probably been Denver’s best player in the preseason, although Jokić dropped a three quarter masterpiece against the Clippers on Thursday night. And Strawther has played with a confidence and swagger of a guy who’s been in a ton of big games and seen a lot over a college career.
You know. That upperclassmen kind of experience.
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(Photo of Julian Crowther: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)