Nuggets’ Bol Bol shines in unofficial NBA debut: “I’ve been waiting a long time” for this moment

The debut of Nuggets rookie Bol Bol was as fascinating as the NBA’s bubble experiment itself.

That it came under ridiculous circumstances – no fans and a severely compromised Nuggets roster – made no difference. The 7-foot-2 forward balled out in his first real competition against NBA talent, validating the whispers that had trickled out of Nuggets training camp. It was easily the biggest storyline after the Nuggets took down the Wizards 89-82 in their first organized scrimmage in 133 days.

There were the blocks – six, to be exact – and other moments where he perused the court like a guard or galloped down it like a wing. He finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes in what could best be described as an endlessly intriguing entrance into the NBA. Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he didn’t intend to play him so long, but his impact on both ends of the floor was undeniable.

Bol, whose postgame media session was delayed by a randomly scheduled drug test from the NBA, joked about how he’d never started a game alongside other seven-footers.

“Tonight might have been the biggest lineup in NBA history,” Malone said.

Down to just eight men against the Wizards, Bol started alongside Nikola Jokic (point guard), Mason Plumlee (center), Jerami Grant (shooting guard) and Paul Millsap (power forward). No one in the starting lineup came in under 6-foot-8.

“That was kind of unusual, but we just made it work with our spacing,” said Bol, who played just eight games in the G League this year and only got to practice with the Nuggets a handful of times. “That was our plan at the beginning of the game. We all discussed that we were all really tall, but as long as we kept our spacing, then everything was going to work. And that’s what happened.”

Jokic finished with 16 points and eight turnovers, while newcomer Troy Daniels had a team-high 22 points. Malone lamented his team’s carelessness (25 turnovers; Bol added five), but was pleased with his team’s fortitude under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Just as Malone did with celebrated rookie Michael Porter Jr. earlier this season, Denver’s veteran coach tried his best to tamp down the hype and check expectations. Before the game, Malone acknowledged he was much more comfortable playing Bol after two weeks of practices than he would’ve been otherwise. But he still didn’t want to add any undue pressure to Bol’s debut.

“Being around him every day, him opening up, you can see his personality getting more comfortable, more confident,” Malone said. “He’s played very well. Let’s not forget. He’s still, in essence, a rookie. Let’s not put the expectations way up there. Let’s let him grow and develop. But he’s shown me that he has a tremendous amount of talent. He has things, as I’ve mentioned quite a bit, that I can’t teach as a coach. I can’t teach 7-foot-2, I can’t teach a 7-foot-9 wingspan, and I sure as hell can’t teach a really soft touch all the way out to the NBA 3-point line.”

The secret was up only minutes into the first quarter when Bol erased a Wizards shot on one end, casually dribbled up the court past Jokic, the emergency point guard, and drilled a transition 3-pointer. Denver’s (dispersed) bench unit celebrated his arrival accordingly.

Playing a zone defense, the Nuggets funneled Washington’s ballhandlers toward Bol, whose 7-9 wingspan disrupted far more than just the shots he actually connected with.

Because the Nuggets were without Jamal Murray (precautionary), Will Barton (knee soreness), and Gary Harris and Torrey Craig, who recently cleared quarantine, they were able to trot out ridiculous lineups that were as much about preserving everyone’s health as they were about having fun. But within those lineups, Bol shined. His one-handed halfcourt pass to forward Noah Vonleh showed precision usually reserved for Jokic, and it’s clear the Nuggets might have another seven-footer whose skillset is rarely replicated.

Later, he and Jokic ran a seamless pick-and-roll, which left the Wizards helpless to defend.

“He has really good IQ,” Bol said of Jokic. “He’s the one that actually told me to set the screen, and I just noticed someone smaller was on me, so I decided to slip.”

In the fourth quarter, the two connected when Jokic whipped an outlet pass to Bol, who dribbled, gathered and polished a miss off with an easy dunk. Across the NBA, most seven-footers don’t move like him.

“Bol is young,” Malone said. “Every minute he gets on the court is going to allow him to grow and learn. And everything he does is a positive, because it’s really good, or it’s something where he may not have done the right thing but he’s going to learn from it.”

Asked to pick his favorite moment from Wednesday’s debut, Bol paused and considered his impressive night.

“Really just getting to play after so long, because I’ve been waiting a long time, just working hard and waiting for this moment,” he said.