Return To Vegas | Rookie Diaries with DaRon Holmes II

Return To Vegas | Rookie Diaries with DaRon Holmes II

Hey, Holmes just got hurt favoring his right ankle there. All I can remember is it was a good game we were playing against the Clippers. Very competitive, you know, and um it was the fourth quarter and I remember playing defense, jumping for a ball that was skipped and then I just remember falling down. I thought somebody kicked me in the back of the leg and I hopped off the court and I was thinking I’m like, “Oh, I’m okay.” And then talked to one of the trainers. I think it was like a Detroit trainer and he said, “Yeah, you tore your Achilles.” And I was like, “What?” He’s like, “Yeah, I pumped your leg.” He was like, “You see?” I was like, “Oh, man.” So, everybody was like, “Hey, you know, you’re going to be okay. We know who you are. We know how hard you fight.” And it’s just a bump in the road. I remember first day after surgery, we’re right back to work. Calf raises, we’re right back to making sure, you know, I’m doing everything I can in my power to strengthen this leg and get it back to where I am uh today. The trainers, they did a great job. Our strength trainers did a great job of helping me out with that as well, you know, and just myself as well. Just making sure I came in every day ready to work, ready to follow the game plan and execute it to perfection. Honestly, just staying healthy, you know, it’s Vegas. Um, I was just talking to Coach Chad about it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. So, I’m going to go out and play my hardest, play my heart out. Um, trust my teammates. I want to win. So, do whatever I can to win the game, however it looks, you know, and um making sure that we’re doing it together, you know, that’s what matters. Excited. Um a little nervous. Um not as nervous as I was last year, just because, you know, I’ve kind of not played in a NBA game before, but like just seen a lot, you know. So, um I’m a little bit more um comfortable uh in terms of going into this game. I’m not fully comfortable though. I’m still ready to, you know, be nervous and all that stuff. So, it’s going to be cool. My name is Don Holmes the second. Welcome to my rookie diaries. [Music] I feel pretty good, you know. Um, it’ll be it’s been a long time since I played the games. Playing two different games out there mentally like am I okay? At the same time, I’m trying to win, you know. So, it’s two different things I’m worried about out there. play as hard as I can, but at the same time, I want to have fun. You know, this is summer league. Whether I do very good, whether I do not the best, um I don’t want to get too high, I don’t want to get too low. Um I trust my teammates. I trust this organization. And I feel like they trust me. So, I just have faith in going out there and doing what I can do. [Music] [Applause] Beman. A nice pass to Holmes. His first shot attempt. [Applause] That’s what he does best. Watch out. Rising in flame. [Applause] I know you talked about wanting to win, but how nice was it to get that first game out under your belt playing again? Um, it felt great. You know, like I like you said, it sucked that we lost like that. You know, I’m kind of hard on myself. You know, um, I felt like I could have did better, but, you know, I got to look at the blessings. I didn’t get injured this game. So, you know, that’s a positive. You know, in our team, we played well. We showed first in the second half, so I thought we did great. At first I’m like, man, this is crazy. So much is going on. This is the NBA, you know. Then you get used to it. And then um you just get a little comfortable with the flow and figure out what you need to do. Now I get to watch film and uh where I need to correct myself and um go back and do those things. I thought that we had like.5 seconds left in the shot clock. So that’s why you’ve probably never seen me shoot something like that again. Um that’s the only time I did that cuz I thought like, oh, we have like.5 seconds. But apparently we had like 5 seconds left. So I’m so glad he got that put back cuz it would have looked horrible. Thanks, dude. Thank you, guys. [Music] How do I look? Solid. Let me see. Good. just being a man. I finally finished the full game of the NBA and the summer league. So, it was it’s been it’s been phenomenal just being able to do that. I thought I did better than I expected in terms of my body um in terms of everything. I think I’m in a better position than I uh was even before. You know, I’m still trusting that leg, but I I think everything that I’ve been working on, it shows and my body feels a lot better and my game feels a lot more fluid. So, I’m just excited to get back just still being able to take it one step at a time, one step further. uh work on something else. May be a pretty game. It might be a game that’s not so pretty. But just being able to stay focused and disciplined and try our best to get the win. [Music] And it’s Holmes controlling the grinding into the double team. Holmes at the rim. [Music] And Holmes in the corner gets that one to fall. [Music] [Applause] Jones missed the tray. Fight for the rebound. Ends up with Holmes for three. Nice. Nice. Don Holmes for three. [Applause] throws it ahead to Holmes for the [Applause] be in Don. Be in Don, get there, boo. [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Good Don. I’m standing here with Don Holmes. What do you need to do to be the more aggressive team in this fourth quarter? We just got to get the ball past half court. Um I mean this is a team that likes to play in the gaps. They’re not afraid to use their fouls. So we got to use their aggressiveness against them. So if we can find a way to do that, I think we’ll win the game. Well, and not only that, but their defense causes some problems. What does your offense need to do? Um, like I said, just be pressure relievers. We need to understand that uh we got to use their physicality against him. If they’re going to be up against us like that, we got to be able to uh play aggressive back. Thank you so much. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] It’s been such a long time since I’ve been able to get back on the court, playing up and down, just trusting the Achilles again. Um, just being able to get out there and play something that, um, you can take for granted sometimes. So being able to get back out there and do that was special to me. [Music] Throughout adversity, you have to keep your head up and push through it. You know, [Music] [Applause] being able to play with a team that cares about you is something second to none. just being able to be out there going through the tough times with the team, you know, getting yelled at, um being positive, you know, high-fiving guys, like just that stuff matters. Just making winning plays. [Music] There’s still steps to getting back, but just being able to be out there like just makes me smile, you know? So, I’m so positive thinking about it. just doing what’s right, you know, and um doing what I need to do. Make sure I’m preparing my body the right way and um my mind, my mentality, all that stuff matters. Did you have fun? I had a lot of fun. You had a lot of fun. A lot of fun. Um just because I’m here. Um I’m present in the moment. Yes, sir. [Music] [Applause] [Music] started playing sports and I was fantast. That’s the first [Music] [Applause] [Music] time he’s speaking for his personal. [Music] That’s a nice find. Holmes underneath. Holmes on the miss there in transition, but quick hands and finishes with the left. Oh, nice feed inside to Holmes. Holmes puts it on the floor, finds Jones, who’s not shy. And you see why for [Applause] [Music] Holmes turn around gets the foul on the basket and Don Holmes continues his effort. [Applause] Holmes with the finish on the other end. Holmes for three. Oh, hands that one. He’s done it all throughout this game. Holmes the second. Don, what did it take from today to get the job done? Um, it took everything. I had to go out there and show that I could hustle and uh try to lead a pack and I thought we all did a great job playing together. Um, going out there and showing what we can do as a team. You got your second double double here at Summer League. Was that a focus for you hitting the glass like that? Yeah, I noticed, you know, um what I like to do is learn and I listen. So after the second game, I had some conversations with uh my college coach and he was telling me some things I need to work on just give me back confidence and I went back I watched film with guys in the agency off my coach and I fixed just showing everything I can do, you know, not just relying on one thing, being able to do everything defensively, offensively, rebounding the ball pretty well, just hustling, doing things I know that can have an impact on winning games. Appreciate the time. Thank you. Thank you guys. [Music] How you doing, brother? Nice to see you again. Yeah, back healthy. So, nice to see you, bro. I’m about to sit back there. Too much commotion. We ain’t messing with him. We too close. I might pull a two string or something. [Applause] Hey, Spence. That’s what we doing in the A10, baby. That’s the Atlantic 10 for you. I wanted that sold out. It’s crazy. I hate it when he guarded me, bro. Yes. Yeah, he’s a bruiser. Yeah, he’s That boy got a burner. That boy got a burner. All right, Kurt. Good work, Kurt. Is this really that easy for you out there? Yeah, I see you, bro. That shot looking good, bro. Here we go. Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh. All that herky jerky ain’t going to work. Stay down. All that herky jerky. Hey now. Oh my goodness. Nice. [Applause] Oh, up Ko. Good work. Good work. Way to work. Way to play. Good work. Way to shoot, bro. Man, summer league was amazing. Like I said before, it’s been such a long time uh since I’ve been able to play up and down on the floor against different competition. Uh so just to be able to get a glimpse of that and a taste of it was great. Really just being able to get through summer league healthy. Um being able to play hard and um do the things I need to do to make winning plays to help the team try to win a game. That’s how it’s going to be in real games, you know. So just being able to get a feel of that helps me understand what it’s going to be like when season comes around. How do you think you can make an impact in the regular season for the Nuggets? Um, we already got all of our scores we need, you know, so just being able to hit open shots, uh, play great defense, great energy, be positive, rebound the ball very well, you know, um, and just make winning plays in general. I think that’s how you can win a championship. That’s what it’s about to me is, uh, being able to win a championship. So, I would love to contribute to that with this team. Have you thought about that first moment at Ball Arena? Man, I think about it all the time. It’s, uh, something that, you know, is, uh, definitely inside and I’m like just excited. I’m so excited. I just try my best not to think about it too much cuz I know how it’s going to feel. Soon there’s some downtime here in Vegas. How have you been spending that? Been spending it pretty well. You know, hanging with some friends, really relaxing, kicking my feet up, hit the casino once or twice, and I’m probably never going to go back, but uh yeah, it’s been a fun time here in Vegas outside of basketball as well. You win any money? Uh yes, at first. And that’s when I learned that um that’s how they get you. So that’s when you got a lot of work. Yeah, that’s all from Vegas. This was my summer league diary. Beautiful thing. Let’s go. Thank you.

In this episode of Rookie Diaries, take an inside look at the journey of Denver Nuggets’ DaRon Holmes II as he makes his return to the court. Watch exclusive interviews and footage that showcase his unwavering determination.

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Return To Vegas | Rookie Diaries with DaRon Holmes II