On December 15, 2016, Nikola Jokić became the full-time starting center for the Denver Nuggets. We didn’t know it at the time, but nothing would be the same going forward. When one looks back more than three years later, they see clearly how that moment altered the trajectory of the organization. On January 2, 2020, Michael Porter Jr. set a career-high in Indiana. We won’t know with certainty for some time, but I expect we’ll look back at that night eventually, grinning with a familiar satisfaction. On July 22, 2020, Bol Bol made his unofficial debut in a tune-up scrimmage down in Disney World, and it’s hard to resist wondering if it just happened again.

Head coach Michael Malone opted not to use Jamal Murray or Will Barton III in Wednesday’s scrimmage with the Washington Wizards, leaving Denver with just one active guard — Troy Daniels. Daniels left a heck of an impression himself, leading the game in scoring with 22 points, and doing all he could in the allotted time to earn an expanded role before the high leverage games begin. Yet Daniels isn’t the story.

Malone rolled out perhaps the tallest starting lineup in NBA history — I’m not going to fact check that — featuring point-Jokić, Jerami Grant, Bol at small forward, Paul Millsap at his natural position and Mason Plumlee at the five. What a glorious abomination.

Bol logged 32 minutes in his first “game” but needed only about 6 of them to make a big impression.

Bol Bol blocks a shot and then dribbles into a 3

YES, MORE BOL MINUTES pic.twitter.com/28nJGcaETm

— Chris Montano (@gswchris) July 22, 2020

To recap: that clip includes one block, one rebound, two wave-offs of Jokić, and one pull-up contested three in transition. Check the bench reaction too. It’s like they knew what to expect. Perhaps now the rest of us do too.

This highlight, and others like it, whipped both Nuggets twitter and the basketball universe at large into a frenzy. The Nuggets found themselves in a rare position as the center of attention while Bol-mania dominated the news cycle. Measured takes be damned; there was real live basketball in front of our eyes. Hyperbole had its day.

Bol finished the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and an eye-catching 6 blocks. He was active and eager, putting up 8 threes, hitting 2, and knocking down 6 of his 14 attempts from the field. The room for growth is evident, and in a real game, his opponents will hunt his weaknesses, but he made it clear he belongs.

The final stat line fails to reflect the outlandishly fun moments that comprise it. Each block felt highlight-reel worthy — particularly the ones Bol converted into transition points. Each three felt like a lock to fall — even the six that clanked off the rim. His very presence on the court provided a matchup nightmare for Washington and stoked the flames of fantasy in Denver.

Bol played the three, jumped for the opening tip, roamed the paint as an eraser in a zone defense, set a screen for point-Jokić, and even ran a couple of fastbreaks. We saw what makes him truly unique, and that Denver might have struck oil yet again. 

This lineup was something novel, yes — a runway show debut for a potential new identity, but perhaps Malone can fashion this notion of ‘Tall Ball’ into something more wearable. Wednesday’s fun didn’t include MPJ, and he fits right into what was so intriguing about this starting group. At 6’10” with an elite offensive skillset, there’s no telling how far the Nuggets can push this idea with him and Bol alongside Jokić.

Perhaps I should be clear, Bol almost certainly won’t factor into any postseason outcomes this year, and it’s a guarantee he’ll face stiffer competition going forward. Surely, he slid to 44 in the draft for reasons beyond his health, and whatever those reasons might be, they could very well rear their head going forward. He’s got a long way to go, but I don’t think that’s actually lost on anyone, and it stopped seemingly no one from soaking it all in. As human beings, we instinctually fear that which we do not know — but on July 22, Malone and Nuggets fans alike embraced it with open arms.

As news slowly trickled in that Denver would be without roughly half its roster and several key players when team activities resumed, Nuggets fans found themselves with reasonable cause for concern. Still, they picked fun over panic. They chose the Bol hype over misery, and are seeing early returns. 

One of the many factors in Bol’s nationwide appeal is the way he floats somewhere between league pass novelty and a legitimate talent. He’s both the reason you watch a full G League game and a potential needle-mover on a budding contender — his ceiling both a fan base’s pipe-dream and legitimate ace up Denver’s sleeve. It’s all on the table now we’ve seen him, from ‘Nugg Life’ striking to the hyperbole becoming prophecy.

The Denver Nuggets are back, and Bol Bol has arrived.