Denver Nuggets: Usman Garuba, the defensive prospect

The Denver Nuggets have the 26th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and Usman Garuba’s defensive potential might be too hard to pass on.

The 19-year-old Spanish prospect just finished up his third season with Real Madrid in Europe, putting up 5.6 points a night, 34 percent shooting from downtown, and grabbing 5.3 rebounds in Liga ACB. No, those numbers aren’t jumping off the page, but it’s not his offensive prowess that’s attracting scouts.

This dude is an amazing athlete and one of those players who makes defense fun to watch.

Standing at 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, he can affect the court on defense simply by playing out there. But it doesn’t end there, the forward routinely picks the pocket of smaller guards, runs the break, and already has some of the sexiest blocks I’ve seen.

There are some sequences where he pesters a ball-handler (maybe a bit too much as they run past him) and then after being behind in the play, he manages to catch up, and block the shot in the end. These aren’t one-offs as well, it happens multiple times.

His blocks aren’t always from behind as well. Playing in Europe against grown men isn’t something to sneeze at as well and Garuba confidently rises for blocks as other players try and slam it on him.

It’s that kind of confidence you love to see in young players. You can bet your life he’ll be trying for poster dunks for the entire season, some of them connecting.

But don’t take my word for it, Jonathan Givony, NBA draft expert at ESPN praises his play:

"“Garuba is arguably the most versatile defensive prospect in the 2021 NBA draft, as he already has considerable experience guarding some of the most formidable players in the international game, be it smaller point guards, playmaking wings, or traditional big men.”"

Denver Nuggets: How would Usman Garuba fit with the team?

Here’s another reason to love Nikola Jokic (as if we needed more): his elite passing gives his teammates so many wide-open looks. It’s incredible how many players Jokic elevates by standing in the right spots at the right time.

I have no doubt in my mind that playing alongside Jokic, Usman Garuba would be handed a few points a night on a platter.

Building on top of that, Kevin O’Connor, The Ringer says that the Spaniard is a skilled passer who can find the open man and deliver the ball with precision. After Jokic has created a hole in the defense, having cerebral passers alongside him just makes the tic-tac-toe game even easier.

On the defensive side, a few years ago, during the 2017 NBA Draft, the Nuggets wanted to draft a player very similar to Garuba in OG Anunoby. Denver had the 13th pick in that year’s draft and traded it to the Utah Jazz for number 24 and Trey Lyles.

Just one pick earlier, at 23, the Toronto Raptors drafted Anunoby, the guy Denver wanted. To make matters worse, the 13th pick ended up being Donovan Mitchell who has been the saving grace and leading scorer for Utah since arriving.

Garuba, in theory, gives Denver all that they wanted in Anunoby. The upside of an elite wing defender and passable shooter who can either completely flop or develop into quite the piece.

Denver has shown the ability to develop its young talent since Tim Connelly took over the front office and the recent acquisition of a new G-League affiliate should only bolster that ability.

Since he’d be a late lottery pick, there wouldn’t be much pressure on Garuba to perform immediately for the Nuggets and he’d sit behind the established forward rotation to begin with.

The best-case scenario here would be that he develops into one of the league’s elite defenders while still on his rookie contract, giving Denver an extremely affordable option on the wing while the core of the roster competes for a title.

Worst-case scenario, it’s a worthy gamble and the Nuggets can wash their hands of the experience in two years if they choose to do so.