When Malik Beasley was in high school, coaches started calling him “Mutant.”
He was always at the gym before and after school, prompting onlookers to ask if he ever took a break.
“No, I don’t,” Beasley would tell them matter-of-factly. “I just love the grind. I’m not from this planet.”
That relentless work ethic fueled Beasley’s lifelong motto: “Stay ready, so I don’t have to get ready.” That approach is helping the second-year Nuggets guard take advantage of the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career, joining the rotation after reserve forward Juancho Hernangomez was diagnosed with mononucleosis.