Zdravo [That’s Slovenian for Hello] Nuggets fans,
This is Vlatko and I’ll be sharing my Summer League experience with you in this space for the next few weeks.
I’m excited to be out in Denver working out with the guys who I’ll be teammates with in Las Vegas. This is a talented group and I think if we can get to know each other and develop chemistry, it will be interesting to see where it will take us. My focus is trying to secure a spot on the Nuggets roster for next season. It would be a pretty big deal for me and I’m going to keep being humble and working hard in trying to reach that goal.
Since I was drafted by the Nuggets in 2017, I’ve had a chance to speak with our two European players Nikola Jokić and Juancho Hernangómez. Nikola, I chatted with last summer and Juancho, I’ve spoken to whenever our national teams [Slovenia and Spain] have faced off against each other. Both have been very encouraging, essentially telling me to go out and leave no doubt as to why I deserve a spot in the NBA.
I know I can help the Nuggets and I’ve paid close attention to what the Nuggets did last season. When the team was in the playoffs last season, I waited until 1 a.m. to watch them out in Europe. Despite being young and not having much playoff experience, this was a group that exceeded expectations and played at a very high level. They just needed a bit more luck, which in sports, is sometimes the edge. I’m very excited about what the team accomplished last year and its future moving forward.
Personally, I want to build on what I thought was a strong year in Spain with the San Pablo Burgos in Liga ACB. I feel I've matured and developed more as a player in my second season with the team. I've been happy to play with a great group of guys in Spain. The competition was really high level and after the season, I was named to the league’s Young Players Best Five Squad. It's just a reward for hard work and dedication, but I feel like I could've won the best young player of the league. It is what it is. It's definitely motivation for the future.
As I’m sure you’ve haven’t seen many highlights of my games out in Europe, if I had to compare myself to anyone in the NBA, it would likely be Bojan Bogdanović from the Indiana Pacers. We're both tall players (Čančar is 6-foot-9, Bogdanović is 6-foot-8) who can be physical and play in the low post, but can also play in the midrange and hit three-point shots. I'm not saying I have everything he has right now, but my game is similar to that.
That’s all I have for now. Stay tuned for more blogs moving forward.
As told to Alex Labidou