Jameer Nelson Finds New Life in Denver
Denver are loaded up on young guards, but it’s 35-year-old Jameer Nelson guiding the NBA’s hottest offensive team down the stretch.
Jameer Nelson played in 125 games and logged 4311 minutes of collegiate basketball at Saint Joseph’s. After being drafted 20th overall, he’s played in 822 NBA games, logged 23349 career minutes, and has taken 8401 shots. In February, he turned 35. This dude is veteran incarnate.
Originally drafted by Denver in 2004, he was traded to Orlando for a future pick that June. After spending a decade as a member of the Orlando Magic, Nelson struggled and cycled through two other teams in the 2014–15 season before being traded back to the franchise that drafted him.
Heading into the 2016–17 campaign, Nelson’s original role looked to be serving as a mentor figure to Denver’s talented young guards. The Nuggets selected Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray with the seventh overall pick in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
One might have expected to find Nelson glued to the bench this year, but he has filled a far more important role than that. It’s the 35-year-old Nelson, not Mudiay or Murray, that’s running point for the NBA’s hottest offense.
So why is the 2004 National player of the year still getting so many minutes?
It all comes back to December 15th.
Prior to that date and the subsequent string of good basketball, the Nuggets were approaching the season differently. Denver has one of the youngest cores in the league. Presumably, developing that core was of more importance to them than winning games in the interim, and their minutes distribution reflected that.
In fact, it was Mudiay who was pegged as the starter to open the year. Despite his plus size at the position and his outrageous athleticism, he struggled.
In the first half of the season, Mudiay shot just 36.9 percent from the field, while hitting only 30.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. He also turned the ball over 4.1 times for every 100 trips down the floor. Things were not any better on the defensive end for him either, where he was one of the worst guards in the league.
After the initial lineup switch, Denver’s offense began to take off. The Nuggets started scoring at an outrageous clip and got most of those points off of assists. The turnovers and poor defense, however, remained a concern.
Winning had now become the priority, as the Nuggets where suddenly within reach of the playoffs. In an effort to add some defensive stability and ball security to the lineup, Mike Malone pulled the plug on Mudiay as a starter.
With the rookie Murray still struggling to find his range and confidence in the NBA, Nelson was tabbed as the starter in mid-January. That move has paid off.
Nikola Jokic’s passing ability has drawn praise from all corners of the NBA universe, but it’s actually Nelson who is facilitating most of the ball movement.
Nelson’s scoring output is nothing to write home about, just 9.1 points per game, but he’s still bringing plenty to the table. In addition to the playmaking, his shooting percentages are up compared to his career averages.
His career FG%/FG3%/eFG% slash line: 43.7/36.9/50.3.
His 2016–17 line: 44.5/38.2/53.0.
These are modest improvements, but impressive when you consider his age and career workload. Nelson’s career appeared to be winding to a close, but he’s posting his best WS/48 mark since the 2011–12 season — his last before turning 30.
Murray’s shooting has improved considerably since the break, but he remains the inferior shooter to Nelson. His jumper will develop, and he will likely become a superior shooter one day, but that day has yet to come.
On the other hand, Nelson can take some frustrating shots, and he was responsible for some brutal possessions in consecutive games against Houston.
But, he still plays with more poise and understanding of the position than the former Wildcat. Scoring was always a part of Murray’s profile as an NBA prospect; running the point was not.
The Nuggets have had no choice but to rely on their veteran, as the younger point guards just aren’t ready to carry this team into the playoffs.
Nuggets fans may be itching to see some more production from the point guard position, but at what cost? In truth, the Nuggets have an abundance of riches on the offensive end. Nelson’s efficiency and playmaking provides more value than his turnover-prone counterparts would with any additional scoring.
Statistically speaking, this season isn’t anywhere close to Nelson’s best. In 2008–09, Nelson averaged a career-high 16.7 points per game and was selected to his first and only All-Star game. Powered by Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic made their first Finals since the 1994–95 season.
Nelson was important to that team. He provided some spacing for Howard with his outside shooting, and he was probably the best pure point guard that Howard ever played with. But, he was the fourth leading scorer on the roster.
His work undoubtedly contributed to that team’s run, but his production for this year’s Denver squad has been both unexpected and essential to their relative success. When you factor in the pace at which his team plays, his age, and the improbable playoff position the Nuggets are in, Nelson might be playing some of the most impressive basketball of his career.
Father time is undefeated, and it’s slowly chipped away at Nelson’s game. However, Nelson still has something left to offer, and he’s leaving it all out on the floor for the Nuggets. He has found new life in Denver, and his season is worthy of appreciation—playoffs or not.
