RJ Hampton is where he belongs. After a draft night fall that saw the former top-5 ranked recruit out of high school slide to the end of the first round, Hampton’s in the perfect situation to hone his talents.
He knows it too.
“Those guys play together. They’re all young,” Hampton said moments after the Nuggets traded back into the first round to select him at No. 24 overall. “That’s the best fit I could have possibly been in.”
Hampton is a quintessential Tim Connelly draft pick in every way. He’s a heralded talent who everyone can agree has a rare amount of natural skill but fell in the draft for some reason. Playing against professionals last season in Australia and New Zealand, Hampton’s game was picked and picked apart, and as a result, teams soured on his game. The Nuggets didn’t. Denver had Hampton pegged as a late-lottery pick on their draft board, according to a source. When Hampton was still available in the early 20’s, his value was too good to pass up.
He’ll fit right in on one of the more talented rosters in the league alongside Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol, who like Hampton were also former top-rated recruits who fell in the draft. The Porter and Bol picks have been rewarding so far. Porter’s set to enter the Nuggets’ starting lineup this season and Bol’s on track to compete for backup minutes at both forward spots. Why wouldn’t Denver stick to what’s worked?
“I think they’re the best talent evaluators. They see real talent,” Hampton said of the Nuggets. “A lot of guys from that 1-13 spot are kind of mad they missed out on Michael Porter Jr. Those guys who slid on Bol Bol are kind of mad they missed out on him. It’s going to be the same thing with me.”
As was the case with both Porter and Bol, the Nuggets don’t need anything from Hampton during his rookie year. It’s another reason why his fit in Denver is such a seamless one. Behind Jamal Murray, Monte Morris and PJ Dozier, all of whom welcomed Hampton to the team in post-draft night texts, the Dallas, Texas native will have a front-row seat to observe a trio of savvy backcourt players this season.
“That gives me an opportunity to learn right away,” said Hampton who believes he can play point guard, shooting guard or small forward.
“Jamal and Monte and PJ, they’re all going to make me better.”
If you’re not caught up on Hampton’s game, here’s the skinny. Hampton is 6-foot-5 with a 6-7 wingspan and will enter the NBA as one of the league’s better athletes. Hampton said Tuesday that he thinks he’s already one of the fastest players in the NBA, and he’s probably right. With or without the ball, Hampton can beat almost anyone up the floor. At the rim, he can sky over any defender. On the catch, Hampton can hit turbo on his first step and in a split-second slip by his man and into the teeth of the defense.
But Hampton’s incredibly raw, and his skill-set still needs to catch up to his athleticism in order for his game to really come together. He needs to tighten up his handle and enroll in Gary Harris and Paul Millsap’s Introduction to Defense rookie year course. Throughout the pre-draft process, Hampton worked with former Nuggets wing Mike Miller on another one of his biggest weaknesses: three-point shooting. Hampton only shot 29.4% from three last season while overseas. He has goal of being a high-30’s to low 40% distance shooter in the coming years.
It’s unlikely that Hampton will crack Denver’s deep rotation this season. But if he does it will be because he defends, plays well off the ball, and can knock down an open jumper off a Nikola Jokic paint touch or a Murray drive-and-kick.
“I’m coming into a team where there’s superstars,” Hampton said. “There’s a lot of talent and I’m going to have to knock down shots to open up the rest of my game.”
Miller played in Denver for two seasons from 2015-17 and has already given Hampton a full rundown on the Nuggets’ organization. When the 19-year-old began to slide out of the lottery and into the late teens, Miller was in communication with Connelly, Hampton said.
Why else was Hampton so thrilled to slip on Nuggets draft cap?
“I think just the culture,” he said.
Hampton got a good sense of what the Nuggets’ values are and the type of self-motivated environment Denver tries to foster inside its facility from Miller, but also from Connelly and the contingent of Nuggets personnel who observed his pre-draft workout. He also wants to win, and Hampton knows Denver has the pieces to do just that. He watched the Nuggets’ run to the Western Conference Finals intently and has observed Jokic and Murray for years. Hampton remembers watching Murray at Kentucky and has played against Porter before.
“It’s the biggest thing for me. I want to be on a winning team,” Hampton said. “I want to be a part of a winning team, a winning franchise.”
“It’s a great team. Denver’s a great place to live. Colorado’s a great place.”
That’s an encouraging sentiment to hear after the Nuggets just lost one of their key rotation pieces in free agency who’s top priority clearly wasn’t winning. Jerami Grant gave Denver the cold shoulder on the first night of free agency and chose to leave a winning situation for a Detroit Pistons team that’s projected to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The Nuggets have to be glad they found another player who shares their core values.
“Coming into a system and a coaching staff and teammates that have that same winning attitude I have,” Hampton said. “I’m super excited to help with the journey, with the process to bring multiple championships to the Denver Nuggets organization.”
