The Denver Nuggets are a team no one wants to see on the schedule, and Peyton Watson is a big reason for that sentiment. He has become a viable third option to lead the Nuggets every night, improving an already potent roster, and that should worry every team in the league. Against the defending champion OKC Thunder, Watson scored 29 points on 11-17 shooting, going 5-7 from three-point range, and he displayed the type of fire you love to see from a young player. If the rest of the league doesn't already know, they will soon: Denver now has three stars, a true "Big 3."
NBA fans know teams with three stars tend to win championships. The Miami Heat had LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Golden State Warriors had Steph Curry, KD, and Klay Thompson. The 2023-24 Celtics even had Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis. And now the Nuggets have Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and P-Wat.
After the Joker went down with a knee injury in Miami to end December, the entire starting unit, sans Murray, was in street clothes. Someone had to step up, and it was P-Wat who led the charge. In fact, much of the reason the Nuggets went 10-6 without Jokic was because of Watson's star-power performances. In the 17 games since Jokic's injury, Watson is averaging 22.4 points per game.
Three stars will co-exist for the remainder of the season
We've seen the blueprint laid out by the great teams I just mentioned. They spread the ball around to each star to ensure everyone stays happy. However, each of those teams had one player who usually got a little more on-ball time than the others. Miami had LeBron, Golden State had Steph. The Nuggets have Jokic. That excites me. He's one of the most unselfish basketball players the game has ever seen. He leads the league in assists, once qualified, at 10.7 per game. And Murray is also no slouch in the dime department. He is currently seventh in the league, averaging 7.5 per game.
The level of ball movement that comes from Jokic and Murray's court vision means they will find the open star. And P-Wat has shown he can score. He put up 29 points against the league's top-ranked defense, OKC, and he's eclipsed 30 points four times this season. I expect that number to rise as we march towards the playoffs. And I haven't even mentioned that he plays some great defense, too.
But like any young star going into restricted free agency, he is going to receive a large contract offer. Hopefully, his star power and the Nuggets' cohesion together are enough to form another "Big 3" to bring a second title to town before we cross paths with that reality.