Zeke Nnaji has a big year ahead of him.
He's entering his fourth season, and though he's had some undeniable highs in his short NBA career, ticky-tacky injuries have repeatedly interrupted his progress. Nnaji missed 31 games last season, but his ailments were mostly minor and short-term: an ankle sprain, a shoulder sprain, a finger sprain, and a right knee issue.
"I feel like I do everything to the best of my ability. From what I eat to how I sleep. All that stuff," said Nnaji on Media Day. "I had some stuff I couldn't control, that were out of my control. So otherwise, I'm not worried about [staying healthy]. Even in college, I never got hurt. In high school, I never got hurt. Never had really any serious injuries. So, not too worried about that."
When he's been on the floor, he's looked excellent. The 22-year-old is a versatile defender at the big man position, able to play power forward or center depending on the needs of his team. He's also incredibly graceful while switching along the perimeter, a skill that is especially valuable when defending the pick-and-roll.
In his preseason debut, Nnaji repeatedly shut down Phoenix's offense with timely switches and snuffed out players who dared isolate against him.
This earned him the first Defensive Player of the Game (aka 'DOPG') award of Denver's 2023-24 season. Acting coach David Adelman spoke glowingly of Nnaji's defensive adaptability after the game.
"His special skill is to switch one through five on defense, and he did it throughout the whole night guarding all kinds of people. That's a unique skill to have in our league, and we trust Zeke to do that," Adelman said confidently.
In his third preseason game against the Chicago Bulls, the University of Arizona product filled the box score with 4 blocks in 18 minutes. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in another 'DPOG' award.
Nnaji is in line for a big increase in role this season. As it stands, he's a shoo-in to become Nikola Jokić's backup at the center position. Head coach Michael Malone told reporters during training camp he plans to use Nnaji and veteran center DeAndre Jordan in matchup-dependent situations. But thus far in the preseason, his playing time has more than doubled Jordan's.
The team has challenged Nnaji to become a better rebounder on both sides of the floor. That can be tricky for a player like Nnaji who's so good at switching onto perimeter players, thereby pulling him away from the basket and rebounding position.
Lockdown defense wasn't the only highlight from his preseason debut against the Suns. He finished the ballgame with 17 points, 13 of which occurred in the fourth quarter. Nnaji affected the game in multiple ways and looked quite versatile offensively, a product of the work he put in this offseason to prepare for his fourth NBA season.
He was especially dogged about backing down players under the basket, turning over his left shoulder, and finishing soft right-handed layups.
Zeke told Nuggets.com just before training camp that one of the main things he worked on this summer was his ball-handling. He put in a lot of time with Mike Penberthy, shooting coach and pro scout for the Nuggets. His goal is to become an adaptable ball-handler who can perform in multiple situations on the floor.
"I think number one (is) being able to get the rebound. If there's no guard, then I can push it and create an advantage that way in a transition situation. Also, in our motion offense and stuff like that—able to dribble and keep my dribble alive and read and be more comfortable. Being able to hand the ball off or make the right play or maybe fake a handoff and attack the rim," Nnaji explained to Nuggets.com. "Using my ball handling just to be more creative and create shots for myself and others."
The fruits of Nnaji's labor are already paying off. Nnaji had one especially explosive play in which he handed the ball off to Jalen Pickett, turned his body to set a screen aimed down the middle, and then popped behind the arc. When Pickett passed the ball his way, Zeke caught, drove hard, and finished a poster dunk over the top of 7'2 Bol Bol.
He and Julian Strawther showcased excellent chemistry in these dribble-handoff situations during Denver's home opener on Tuesday. Zeke looked like a real natural keeping his dribble alive, placing the handoff right in Strawther's mitts, setting a sturdy screen, and then rolling to the rim.
Coach Adelman showered Nnaji with praise for his improvements as a dribble-handoff player over the years.
"I think the angles and the ball handling... the underhand compared to the overhand, the physical handoff. These are all things that people think that guys just know how to do, and the casual fan that watches the game is like, 'Well, yeah, all he's doing is going over and playing dribble-handoff.' No, this is a really tough thing to learn, and I've seen it growing up," said Adelman on Tuesday.
"So," Adelman continued, "That's a lot of work in the summer. That's a lot of work throughout these years he's been here, and we do a lot of that stuff. And I think at first it can be kind of intimidating. The first time you go to hand the ball off and somebody blows up the play, it's easy to freak out. And tonight, he was so calm. You just go to the next person, the next play. Go through your process. Breathe a little bit. And he's gotten a lot better at that."
Ball handling wasn't the only thing Nnaji worked on this summer. He told Nuggets.com that he also refined his three-point shot. The Minneapolis native shot a combined 43.9 percent from behind the arc on 139 total attempts in his first two seasons. But then, after changing his shooting form in the 2022 offseason, that percentage fell to 26.2 percent in the 2022-23 regular season.
"My old shot, I kind of paused a little bit," said Nnaji in early October. "My new shot, I'm shooting it earlier. Just my regiment feels a little bit better."
Nnaji told reporters on Media Day he wasn't worried about the decline in three-point percentage. He explained that a change in form takes time to adapt to, especially after doing it one way for his entire basketball lifespan.
"It was definitely difficult at first because I shot that way my whole life. But after about a couple of months, I kind of started to get it," said Nnaji. "And then it's about repetition and just building that muscle memory. Creating new habits that you need to sustain your new shot."
Similar to his ball-handling training, Zeke has used the offseason to become more versatile as a shooter. He's added dimensions to his game as a three-point capable big man... outside of just standstill catch-and-shooting: Pick-and-pops. Shots while on the move. Corner three-pointers. Everything you could need to be a dangerous threat behind the arc.
"A lot of pick-and-pop and a lot of spot-up shots, as well, because in our offense and the way we play, I set screens and I pop. I'm gonna have those kinds of looks," Nnaji told Nuggets.com. "But more importantly, Jok, Jamal, Mike, and AG, they have the ball a lot. So, being able to be ready to shoot the ball whenever they have it because they'll find you no matter where you are."
Opportunity is on the table. Nnaji just has to take it. He's a free agent this summer, so a payday looms if things go right this season.
"Being able to see the work that it takes—the dedication, the preparation, the mindset, the effort that it requires to actually compete at that level and win at all. I understand that," Nnaji told Nuggets.com. "So, that's something that I'll carry with me for the rest of my career."