Every minute Collin Gillespie was on the practice court inside Ball Arena felt like a sigh of relief.
The Nuggets guard hasn’t played in a live basketball game in a year due to a leg fracture, so the moments spent sprinting down the floor with Jamal Murray, guarding second-round pick Jalen Pickett and working on his 3-point stroke during summer league practices were a blessing.
Nothing was guaranteed for Gillespie when Denver announced last July that he was out indefinitely after breaking his leg in a pickup game at his alma mater, Villanova. He was an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract and previously tore his MCL near the end of the Wildcats’ 2021 season.