Injury concerns pop up for young Denver Nuggets guard at training camp

After the first day of Denver Nuggets training camp in San Diego, sophomore guard Peyton Watson was seen leaving the court limping and with ice around his left ankle, according to DNVR’s Harrison Wind.

“An injury note to keep an eye on: Peyton Watson walked off the practice court with a limp and ice around his left ankle,” Wind reported on Tuesday. “It’s something to monitor after both Reggie Jackson and Justin Holliday said “being healthy” will be important to his success this season.”

There was no further information provided on Watson’s ankle, but getting hurt certainly wasn’t the way he would’ve wanted to kick off his second year in Denver.

With the departures of both Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, who both found new homes in free agency this offseason, the 21-year-old should have a great opportunity to carve out a spot for himself in Denver’s rotation this year.

However, that’s not something he’ll be able to do without being healthy.

Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson predicted to have ‘surprising’ season

Watson’s opportunity is no secret. In fact, it’s something that’s been talked about on the national stage a bit. Last month, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley predicted that the young guard could surprise some people and put together a breakout season.

“He has the necessary size and length to be an all-purpose disruptive presence on defense and a ferocious finisher around the basket,” Buckley wrote. “He quietly has the ability to make plays (for himself and his teammates) off the dribble, and things could really open up for him if he finds consistency with his long-range shot.”

Denver’s No. 8 didn’t seen many chances to prove himself last season, appearing in just 23 games for the Nuggets.

This summer he got a larger opportunity in the NBA2K24 Summer League and looked solid. Watson averaged 19 points in 31.2 minutes per game, across two appearances for the summer Nuggs.

Though Watson’s playmaking ability was something that Buckley mentioned in his write-up, it’s not something that was overly displayed in Las Vegas.

He didn’t set up his teammates very much and actually threw the ball to the opposition much more. His 3.5 turnovers to one assist ratio wasn’t the most encouraging thing for Nuggets fans.