DaRon Holmes II grateful and excited as he starts first training camp with Nuggets

What a difference a year makes for former Dayton Flyers forward DaRon Holmes II.

A year ago at this time, Holmes was less than three months removed from an Achilles tendon tear that cost him his rookie season in the NBA. He was still a long way from returning to 100% as his Denver Nuggets teammates began training camp.

Now Holmes is healthy and ready for his delayed rookie season. He appeared at a press conference Monday at Ball Arena in Denver, one day before the start of preseason training camp at UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif.

“It’s amazing just to be able to be here working out,” Holmes told reporters in Denver. “Last year I wasn’t able to do that. I was doing a lot of PT (physical therapy) stuff. So I’m just grateful to be in this position in the first place.”

Holmes suffered the injury in his first NBA Summer League game in 2024. He returned to the Summer League this year and averaged 13.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in four games.

Holmes will play in his first NBA preseason game in San Diego at 9 p.m. Saturday (Eastern Time) against the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose training camp roster includes Holmes’ former Dayton teammate Nate Santos.

The Nuggets open the regular season against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Oct. 23.

Holmes has plenty of experience around him on the roster as he learns the NBA game. Denver’s star is Nikola Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP who’s entering his 11th season in the league. Jamal Murray, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, is entering his ninth season, and that doesn’t count a season he lost to injury.

Denver’s third-leading scorer, Christian Braun, is someone Holmes crossed paths with during his freshman season at Dayton. Braun played for Kansas, which lost to the Flyers on the buzzer-beater by Mustapha Amzil in November 2021.

One of the team’s newcomers is 33-year-old center Jonas Valančiūnas, who is playing for his sixth team in 14 seasons.

“It can only help me going up against them and competing against them in training camp,” Holmes said, “and then being able to see what they do in the games.”

Holmes joins one of the most consistent franchises in the NBA. Denver has posted winning records in eight straight seasons and has won 50 or more games three years in a row. It won its first NBA championship in 2023.

“We have a winning team,” Holmes said. ”We have a lot of great players, and for me, it’s just about being able to play alongside those great players and contribute what I need to. I think I’ll be used as a tweener in certain situations for the most part, but we’ll see as it goes. I’m excited for whatever role I get. My goal is to bring energy and play as hard as I can and be a winner."

When Holmes appears in a regular-season game for the Nuggets, he will be the first former Flyer to make his NBA debut since Jalen Crutcher in 2024. Crutcher was the 25th former Flyer to appear in an NBA game.

“This was my lifelong dream,” Holmes said. “I’m grateful. I know I missed all of last season. I had to watch it on the sidelines. So being able to go into technically my rookie season is something I’m very excited about.”