DaRon Holmes II Post Practice Media | 2025 Summer League 🎙

DaRon Holmes II Post Practice Media | 2025 Summer League 🎙

John, how excited are you, man, to be back on the floor in a team capacity and working towards some goals here on the court?
Very excited. I mean, we had a great team. Um, we have a great summer league team and we’re just excited to get going. So,
when did you get to where you felt you were fully healthy? We saw you working out in the playoffs and all that. Around that time, you know, it was all just trusting the trainers and what they had to say. And, um, I trusted the process and now I’m 100% healthy. So now it’s all up to them on when they feel is most comfortable for me to get out there and play.
Where are you at mentally right now?
I think I’m in a great spot with the team we had last year and the team we have this year. We got great guys around, great locker room guys that help out for my mental. So I think I’m in a great spot.
Are you Do you trust your body? I know it’s a big part of rehabilitation and coming back when you’re out on the floor. Are you still thinking about it? What’s it like from that perspective?
Um you always have that thought, especially when something like that happens, but honestly I can only go onward and upward. So, I’m just excited to get out there and get going again.
Is it kind of like riding a bike, but just getting the pedals going again and getting everything moving? Definitely. You have to start over from um square one. You have to learn how to walk again and run and play. So, um all that stuff comes with it, but you know, like I said, I had a great environment around me uh last year, so I think I’m in good shape.
There any specific areas of your game that you feel like you might be feeling out a little bit more after you’re actually in a game environment? Um, honestly, I think everything, you know, uh, I haven’t played a game in it’s been a year, so um, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be exciting. You know, I’ll make some new mistakes. Uh, but really just say, you know, trusting the process.
What do you think is the most important thing you can take away from summer league this year?
Uh, just going out there and playing hard, having fun, uh, reseing how it is to win and actually feeling that, you know, I got to watch it all year with the Nuggets. Um, but now I get to be a part of that, you know, and just get a little sneak peek of how it is to win.
Yeah. obviously wanted to be on the court, but you know, you weren’t able to be. Nonetheless, what did you take from being around team that took the the champs to the wire and you know, Joker playing as well as he did.
I just tried to take a little bit of everything from everybody. You know, you can learn so much. We have a very veteran team. So, they all had something to say and I I listen to every single one of them. So, what’s the communication with the coaching staff been? Like, obviously got some some new guys coming in as well. But who have you connected with who’s helped you kind of get through the both the rehab and development process? Honestly, I connect with all of them pretty well. The strength trainers and our physical trainers do a very good job of making sure that, you know, I’m on time, on target. They’re very strict on me. But I think that’s very important for my development. So, I can see my growth. I feel like I’ve gained some weight, gained some muscle, and I just feel more confident in what I do. Now, where would you go ahead? just getting healthy was your number number one perspective, but do you feel like there are other areas of your game that haven’t improved between last year to this year?
Definitely. I think my shots still been improving and it’s uh looking pretty good. Um I think like I said, uh just being in the weight room, uh adding some muscle to my game and just learning our system, learning our plays, I feel more confident knowing what I need to do now and uh my passing game I think has gotten a lot better.
A lot of conversation about playing the four, playing the five. Just where where do you feel most comfortable? Where where do you want to put me? Honestly, anywhere they want to put me, you know. Um, anywhere they put me, I’ll be comfortable with playing. Um, I spent a lot of summer time uh, playing the five. Uh, now I’m going to shift back to playing four. So, it’s going to be every I I think I’ll be playing both, you know. So, I’m comfortable with whatever and um, I trust what the coaches have. I trust this team and organization. So, I’m excited to get out there.
See Drell Arthur out here coaching you. He’s obviously development guy, but he I believe also to kill you last year right around the same time. Plays the same position more or less that you play played. So, is that beneficial to have a guy that’s been through it or is going through that but has played where you were to help beat him back at all?
It’s very beneficial because I get to listen to somebody like you just said has been in a very similar position to me, plays the same position. So, he shows me little things that I might not see while I’m out there and I can go back and look and fix and I can correct when I’m on the court.
With the shot specifically, you came in with sort of the momentum of a really good shooting season in college. um when you’re just working on a ton of shooting reps as you’re also going through a rehab process, is there some difficulty to like trying to make sure that you’re maintaining the correct mechanics when when you’re also dealing with with the stuff with your body just like how’s that kind of process of trying to make sure you’re able to pick up where you left off with it?
You are correct about that. It can be pretty difficult because you know um you have to trust what the trainers are saying. So if they’re like, “Hey, we don’t want you coming back in the gym tonight. Rest your legs.” You know what I’m saying? like rest your Achilles. Um I might try to fight back and say no, I want to get shots up, but I have to listen to what they have to say because they went to school for eight plus years doing that. You know, I grew up playing basketball. But, you know, so you got to fight. That’s the fight. You know, it’s more of a mental thing, but I listen to what they have to say and um I trust my form. I’ve been still getting up shots, but I listen. If they’re like, “Hey, we want you not coming back in right now. Um we want you to come back in at these times,” then I’ll be like, “Okay, we can make something work.” So, that’s the hardest part about it.
Yeah. Have you started to visualize that you’ll be returning to basically the same place where you got hurt. Game one of of summer league is right around the corner.
Yeah. Um definitely, knock on wood. Uh but um I definitely visualize that, you know, but um like I said, you have to look onward and upward. Um it was it was a tra tragic uh event that happened last year, but you know, you can only look uh for the best to come in the future. You know, it’s hard. I I have to tell myself if you worry about it so much, you know, it could happen again. But you know, you just got to uh keep looking forward and you know that that was the past. So now now it’s new beginnings.
Do you ever watch back some of your tape from that game before the injury?
Definitely. Definitely. And uh um I just watched I I re rewatched it a lot. I thought I was playing pretty well. Um especially in the system. I was like a chicken with my head cut off at first figuring stuff out, but once I finally had the game slow down for me, it was pretty cool to uh get out there and experience it.
Excited to get the the full Vegas experience this time. I’m sure that was probably cut short a little bit last time.
Yeah, I’m excited to get the full Vegas experience with this team is great. I think we got great teammates. uh Spencer and Hunt tomorrow. Like we got a lot of great guys out there that are willing to go out there and uh play hard. So I’m excited to play with them.
Do you develop any off the court hobbies during the last year?
I would say going to the movies a little bit more. Uh I go to the movie theater a lot now. And um honestly other than that, play with my dog when she’s in town. So um that’s the two main things I would say I do besides getting in the gym.
Best movie you’ve seen in Denver? Best movie I’ve seen in Denver was either F1 or Ballerina. Thank you guys.

Hear what DaRon had to say after mini-camp practice leading up to NBA Summer League.

Find Denver Nuggets news, gear, tickets and more right here: https://linktr.ee/denvernuggets

#nba #basketball #denvernuggets #nuggets #nbasummerleague #daronholmesII

DaRon Holmes II Post Practice Media | 2025 Summer League 🎙