Paul Millsap is a Denver Nugget. After an excruciatingly long wait during the first days of free agency, Millsap has agreed to a three year, $90 million deal. We already can’t wait to see the impact Millsap will have on the court for the Nuggets, but in the meantime here are five things to know about the Nuggets new power forward:
Paul Millsap is a damn good basketball player
Millsap might be 32 years old, but the dude can still ball. He’s a four time All-Star and low key one of the best power forwards in the game. He has been underrated for his entire career and is an advanced stats legend. In 2016-17, among all power forwards in the NBA, Millsap finished third in RPM behind only Draymond Green and Kevin Love. He was fifth among power forwards both in value added and estimated wins added. In 2015-16, he was sixth in PER.
He doesn’t have a flashy game, but he does all the little things and he does them right. He alone will help improve Denver’s poor defense, and on offense he is about as efficient as it gets. Last season, he averaged a career high 18.1 points per game. And he can be known to have huge scoring performances, like this:
He grew up in Denver
Millsap lived in Denver as a kid for a decade before his parents got divorced and his mom moved him and his brothers back to Louisiana. Her job in Colorado worked her long hours and she wanted a better situation for which she could watch over her rowdy yet immensely talented boys. After being away for nearly 20 years, Millsap is coming home!
He didn’t start playing basketball until high school
Growing up, Millsap was a football player and was incredibly gifted. When his family moved to the tiny town of Downsville, LA, however, there simply weren’t enough teenage boys for a school football team. Instead, Millsap was almost forced to play basketball. As he would later tell Grantland, “It turned out it was the best decision I made.” We agree, 100%.
He is the only player in NCAA Division 1 history to lead the nation in rebounding three consecutive years
Millsap played for Louisiana Tech in college from 2003-2006. In that time, he averaged 12.5, 12.4 and 13.3 rebounds per game, leading the nation three years in a row in that category. Not only is he the only D1 player to accomplish that feat, he is the only NCAA D1 player to even win that award three times total. Even college rebounding legends Tim Duncan and Kenneth Faried only led the nation in rebounding just once in their storied careers.
His brother is also in the NBA
Two Millsaps? Paul’s younger brother, Elijah, is also a professional basketball player. Just like his older brother, Elijah was started his NBA career with the Utah Jazz after signing a 10-day contract with the team in 2015. He spent a year in Utah before being waived and bouncing around various foreign teams and the D-League before being called up by the Phoenix Suns in April and signing a multi-year deal.
Welcome to Denver, Paul!