LOS ANGELES — Bones Hyland still doesn’t know who hit him.
It was training camp at the University of California San Diego. Hyland was pressing full-court, playing his personal brand of high-octane basketball.
Then, bam! Hyland got cracked on a blind screen.
“I forget who it was, but it felt like my head popped off my shoulders,” Hyland said from shootaround Monday morning ahead of Denver’s preseason opener vs. the Clippers. “Bol was on my team, he didn’t call the screen. I said, ‘Dang, Bol! How you ain’t gonna call that out?’ That was my welcome-to-the-NBA moment.”
Hyland’s moment had nothing to do with being stranded on an island against Chris Paul or Damian Lillard. It wasn’t on Sunday afternoon, when most of the Nuggets sat in a suite at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the Rams-Cardinals game. Instead, Hyland’s moment came courtesy of friendly fire.
In barely a week of camp, Hyland’s already made a strong impression on teammates. Though still a rookie, when various Nuggets were asked which player had the best handles, the majority gave Hyland their vote. The slippery guard has an uphill battle to get minutes over Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers or P.J. Dozier, but his scoring adds a different dimension, particularly from Campazzo or Dozier. Nuggets coach Michael Malone has already praised his ability to attack.
“He loves to work, he’s aggressive, he’s a likeable young guy, which is always nice when they don’t come in thinking they know everything,” Rivers said. “He wants to learn, he wants to play. He’s gonna be a good player, man. Bones is gonna be good. He definitely has a nice handle.”
Hyland, who was in Denver’s gym playing pick-up games even before preseason started, said his recipe to earn his teammates’ respect was simple: show up early.
“The different level of work ethic that I have in showing the people here that I’m here to help you guys win,” Hyland said. “I know that me coming in as a rookie, I gotta make my stamp, make my mark early, and make that impression early. So I did that when we were in open runs, my quick handles, my different changes of paces. … I showed them what I was capable of early.”
With nothing guaranteed come the regular season, Hyland’s best chance to make an impression may be during preseason in the coming weeks against the Clippers, Warriors, Timberwolves and Thunder. And if his minutes are limited once the games start to count, Hyland assured his infectious outlook wasn’t going to change.
“I’m gonna be the same,” Hyland said. “Off the court, if I’m not playing, I’m like a fan to my players. I want to bring that extra joy.”
