Nuggets Journal: Rookie DaRon Holmes II talks injury rehab from torn Achilles: “It’s kind of an advantage for me”

The bags weren’t going to hold themselves. They belonged to DeAndre Jordan and Russell Westbrook, but those two have been around the NBA far too long to carry their own postgame meals. They needed someone else to look after the grocery bags.

Naturally, they enlisted their team’s only rookie, who was seated on the opposite side of the visitors’ locker room in Atlanta.

A few of the Nuggets were sitting around, hanging out, taking their time after a 30-point win over the Hawks. (Well, it was more so that they knew they could take their time; the last team bus wasn’t leaving State Farm Arena until Nikola Jokic was ready.) As DaRon Holmes II walked over to accept his rookie chores, Jordan barked orders. No looking in the bags. No smelling. No setting them on the ground.

Holmes wore a wide, goofy grin on his face the whole time.

That might sum up his entire ethos. The 22-year-old is still getting the NBA rookie experience with Denver, even if playing basketball isn’t part of it. With minutes remaining in his first Summer League game, Holmes tore an Achilles tendon in July, ending his season before it could start. It was a blow to the Nuggets. They traded up six spots in the first round to draft him 22nd overall, parting with their second-round pick and two future seconds.

But the 6-foot-10 big man out of Dayton had an unusually upbeat perspective on the injury, both in the moment and afterward, as the long rehab process began. Holmes is progressing well, he says, and he’s happy to have the opportunity to travel with the team in the meantime. The Denver Post caught up with the Nuggets’ rookie on their most recent road trip.

DP: You’re playing Summer League, then suddenly you’re getting examined behind the bleachers in this small gym in Las Vegas. It seemed like everyone could tell immediately that it was season-ending. What were you thinking and feeling in that moment?

Holmes: “Honestly, I was just like, ‘What’s next?’ I always have that ‘next’ mentality. I was more in the mind frame of like, ‘OK, let’s get this surgery. Let’s work toward getting back healthy.’ And luckily I’m here now. But that’s how I was feeling during that time.”

DP: (Skeptical expression.)

Holmes: “Honestly. I wasn’t upset at all. My agent was even like, ‘You’re not, like, upset? Bro, you just tore your effing Achilles.’ He looked at it, and he’s more upset than me. I just looked at Calvin (Booth, Nuggets general manager), and I was just like, ‘Dang. (Crap) happens.’ That’s how I try to approach everything in life.”

DP: Why weren’t you upset?

Holmes: “At the end of the day, I knew I was going to get better, and I looked at the positives. It’s kind of an advantage for me. I get to watch. Learn all the plays. And grow with all these teammates, and learn from great coaches. I get to have a great opportunity to learn in the best organization out there.”

DP: What have been the benefits of being on the road with the Nuggets while injured: Is it mostly related to being around team doctors or making sure you’re still part of the team?

Holmes: “It’s all of it. Our staff does an excellent job. Our medical staff, they do very good in terms of making sure I’m on time for rehab, making sure I’m doing this the right way. The way we go about things. The strength coaches are making sure my knee doesn’t go out when I’m squatting. They’re very good with attention to detail, so every day I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited to be able to come out here and work on myself. And in the locker room, we’ve got a bunch of great vets in DJ, Russ, AG (Aaron Gordon), Nikola. I could go on down the list. Everybody, they bring their own personalities. I get to learn from them. I’m just trying to soak everything up as I can right now.”

DP: Whose ear are you in the most?

Holmes: “I try to take things from everybody, just see things from different perspectives and lenses. I really admire all of them. Me and Russ sit very close to each other on the bench because he likes to sit in that last seat (at the end of the bench). So I get to see him and how he’s very competitive, and that gets me motivated for when I come back.”

DP: What have been the steps to your rehab so far, and where are you in the process right now?

Holmes: “To start, it was the surgery, obviously. After surgery, we did a lot of stuff in terms of ankle mobility. A couple of weeks of that, and then I get in the boot. And I’m in the boot, walking. Still doing some calf exercises in the boot, but nothing crazy. Then you get out of the boot and start walking. I’ve been out of the boot for a long time now, and really it’s just staying in the weight room and staying consistent. Now we’re running. So I’m at the point now where I’m probably a couple of weeks from being fully healthy, but still, they’re taking things with precaution and playing things smart and safe.”

DP: Your 3-point shooting was a big appeal when Denver drafted you. How many shots are you trying to get up in your development routine while dealing with this?

Holmes: “If I could, I would get up as many shots as I could a night. But there are limitations on that right now because they don’t want me going too crazy with (the leg), landing on it. So I think we’re not far away from me going to the gym by myself and shooting at night. But I’m able to have a workout time on the court for pre-warmups, and stuff like that. Every day I shoot probably around 200, 250, probably something like that, in 3s.”

DP: Have you ever been through an injury that was anything close to this serious before now?

Holmes: “This was the first time anything like that has ever happened. I’ve rolled my ankles a few times, but I’ve never torn my Achilles.”

DP: Are you on track to be physically capable of playing by the playoffs, or is this 100% out for the season no matter what?

Holmes: “I’ll be back, but I’m a rookie, so I don’t expect them to throw me (into playoff games). But yeah, I’ll be back healthy, practicing and stuff probably, when that time does come. But, you know, rookies.”

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