During an NBA League Pass alternate broadcast of a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, former players Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson were asked which current players remind them most of themselves. Crawford, a 3x NBA Sixth Man of the Year, mentioned players such as Stephen Curry because of his ability to get his shot and Kyrie Irving because of his ball handling. He then went on to say that there are a couple of young players in the league who remind him of himself, and mentioned none other than Denver Nuggets rookie Nah’shon “Bones” Hyland.
Hyland tweeted the below response after watching the clip:
For a rookie to already capture the attention of former players after having only played 74 minutes in the NBA is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Crawford in particular mentioned that he likes Hyland’s energy, and it’s easy to see why after the last few games in which he has been in the rotation for the Nuggets. Hyland is definitely a spark off the bench, a role that Crawford perfected in his 20-year NBA career. The comparisons don’t stop there. Hyland and Crawford both have range in their shot-making ability, can smoothly run an offense, and are aggressive at attacking the basket.
Hyland’s rookie season barely started, and nobody knows what his ceiling is, but it’s safe to say that if he accomplishes what Crawford did in his career, with a 14.6 points per game average, then the Nuggets definitely got a gem in last year’s draft.
