Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Nuggets 7-foot-2 rookie Bol Bol: Denver is the perfect situation

Bol Bol Basketball Nuggets

Mark Lennihan / AP

Bol Bol, a freshman basketball player from Oregon, attends the NBA Draft media availability Wednesday, June 19, 2019, in New York.

Denver might not have been the last place 7-foot-2 Bol Bol thought he'd end up on draft night two weeks ago, but it certainly wasn't where he expected to land.

With Bol plummeting well into the second round due to a stress fracture and subsequent surgery during his lone year at Oregon, the Nuggets sensed an opportunity to draft a prospect they had ranked significantly higher on their board. By the 44th pick, the Nuggets couldn't resist his immense upside and made a trade with Miami to choose Bol Bol, who played high school basketball at Findlay Prep in Henderson.

"It's surprising, but I think it actually ended up being the perfect situation," said Bol Tuesday from the second day of Nuggets minicamp. "Just because everyone on the staff is very cautious. I like how they move slow and actually care about what's going on."

The Nuggets aren't new to drafting projects. A dozen teams were scared of drafting Michael Porter Jr. in 2018 and even more were wary of Bol in this year's draft. Coincidentally, the two have played against each other since they were 9. In between, the Nuggets took another chance on forward Jarred Vanderbilt, whose foot problems were far worse than Bol's at the time of the draft. In each case, the Nuggets practiced patience.

They'll need to yet again with the 19-year-old Bol, who must develop, mature, recover and put on weight. At the draft combine in May, Bol weighed 208 pounds.

Porter Jr. and Vanderbilt will be on the Nuggets' Summer League roster, which opens in Las Vegas on Friday. Bol will be there but won't suit up. It's unclear whether he'll make his professional debut this year or not.

For all of his tantalizing skills, there's a lot that needs to happen behind the scenes before he's ready to contribute at the NBA level even though he says his foot is 100 percent. There's a huge learning curve in the NBA, and Bol, who sports a tattoo of a SpongeBob character on his leg, said he feels like he was in high school just months ago.

Before his one year in Eugene, Oregon, Bol went to four different high schools in four years, including his senior year at Findlay Prep in Henderson. Now he's in Denver, a place he describes as "way better than I thought it would be."

"It was a little bit rough moving high schools," Bol admitted. "I think it's good for me to finally settle in. I'm also close to home. It's kind of similar to like where I live in Kansas City."

Nowhere is he likely to blend into a crowd. He said he gets asked about his height "at least 10 times a day" and since moving to Denver he's often been stopped for pictures and autographs. A huge adjustment period is likely coming for the shy teenager who rained in more than half of his 3-pointers in college.

But credit him for maintaining a healthy perspective even after his draft night drop.

"I haven't even played a game yet, so I don't know why I'd be disappointed," Bol said. "I could've went undrafted, and that's even worse. I ended up in the perfect situation."