‘He’s just waiting for his time’: Villanova’s Collin Gillespie aims to stick with the Denver Nuggets

Villanova guard Collin Gillespie in action against Kansas during the Final Four on April 2, 2022.

Tucked inside the visitors’ tunnel at the Wells Fargo Center, Collin Gillespie propped himself up against a cold cement wall last Tuesday evening.

The former Villanova star and Archbishop Wood grad insisted he conduct his pregame interview with The Inquirer at this discreet location. It offered him an opportunity to go unbothered, even for a few minutes.

“I love being here, man. This is my home,” said Gillespie, a point guard with the Denver Nuggets. “It will always be home. It’s where my family is. It’s where my best friends are. So I always get excited when I come back. I grew up here. I played here. I love coming back. This one means a little bit more.”

Gillespie did not log any playing time as the 76ers topped the Nuggets, 126-121, in a thrilling matchup that featured NBA MVP favorites Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić. Still, this past week marked a special moment for Gillespie, who has relished his last 1½ seasons in the league.

After he won a national championship as a freshman and played five seasons at Villanova, Gillespie went undrafted in 2022. He signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets and made a strong first impression. Gillespie’s averages of 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists paced the Nuggets during summer league play, and he looked comfortable directing teammates at the next level.

However, the two-time Big East player of the year and 2017 Catholic League champion suffered a broken leg during a pickup game later that summer at Villanova. Gillespie was a rookie on a two-way deal, and his future appeared hazy.

The Nuggets had zero obligations to keep him on the roster given the nature of his contract. But the organization stuck with Gillespie, and while he wasn’t able to play, still ended the season as an NBA champion, with the Nuggets defeating the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals.

“That was probably one of the toughest moments of his entire career,” said Gillespie’s father, Jim. “For him to persevere through that injury, to make his debut this season, to come back home to Philadelphia and play in front of his friends and family … it truly means the world. I’m just a proud dad.”

Gillespie, 24, said his recovery process was emotionally draining, but this past summer, he successfully rehabbed from his broken tibia, fibula, and ankle injuries. He made his NBA debut against the Los Angeles Lakers in late October, and he scored his first career points during a Nov. 4 win over the Chicago Bulls.

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“I can’t say enough great things about Collin,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said earlier in the season. “The journey he’s been on, to get through everything he’s gone through and to go out there and play and play the way he did … you root for kids like that.

“… The night of the [2022] draft, I was hoping he didn’t get drafted because we wanted him,” Malone said. “He was an NCAA point guard of the year. The guy’s won a championship. He played for one of the best college coaches in recent history in Jay Wright. He just has a great feel for the game. He makes open shots. He’s used to winning. He has all the attributes that you want, all the intangibles that you want.”

Gillespie was named the G League player of the month for December. Over six games with the Grand Rapids Gold, he averaged 21.7 points, 11.7 assists, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. He produced four 20-point games, including a career-high 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists during a Dec. 29 win over the Westchester Knicks.

As a two-way player, Gillespie can be called up to the Nuggets roster at any point of the season. Despite his frequenting both Grand Rapids and Denver over the last several months, he has made a sure impact on his teammates at the NBA level.

“He’s just waiting for his time,” point guard Jamal Murray said. “He’s so good. He works so hard at his game. He’s always getting shots up after games when he doesn’t play.

“He might be considered undersized [6-foot-1], but he doesn’t show that on the court. He’s just a great locker-room guy. For me, I’m just waiting for him to get on the court, because he deserves to be out there. He’s got talent and that grit you can never measure in a player.”

Forward Peyton Watson said he has admired Gillespie dating to their college days when Villanova played Watson’s alma mater, UCLA.

“He’s just a great guy,” Watson said. “A leader by nature just because he’s a point guard. He’s someone that’s always the same with his approach no matter what. He never gets high or too low. He’s always gritty. He’s always been a dominant player, he’s not scared of nobody. He don’t back down from nobody.

“That’s one thing I will always admire about Collin. He doesn’t care who’s standing in front of you. He’s going to play his game and play hard.”

With Grand Rapids, Gillespie is averaging 19.4 points, a G League-high 10.3 assists, 9.3 rebounds, and 1 steal. He’s shooting 48.3% from the field, including 39.3% from three.

Although Gillespie’s minutes have been sparse with the Nuggets, center DeAndre Jordan labeled him as the team’s “glue guy.”

Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets hit up McGillin’s after Sixers loss — and got a ‘good old Philly welcome’ from fans

Jordan and Gillespie have developed a special bond thanks to their status as seat mates on the Nuggets’ chartered flights. Ahead of the team’s recent cross-country flight to Philadelphia, Gillespie made sure everyone knew the significance behind the trip as he sported a throwback Brian Dawkins Eagles jersey on the plane. After Tuesday’s game, Gillespie arranged a late-night shindig with his teammates at McGillin’s Olde Ale House.

“He helped us put up a banner in the rafters,” Jordan said. “It’s great being his teammate. I’m so proud of him. He’s overcome and learned so much over the past year.”

Gillespie isn’t certain when he’ll be able to return home next. Last Tuesday, he had about 40 family members, friends, old teammates, and coaches in attendance at the Wells Fargo Center. Riding the wave as a two-way player, Gillespie only can promise to himself that he’ll represent his roots whenever he steps onto the court.

“That mentality just comes from growing up in Northeast Philly,” Gillespie said. “It’s a blue-collar city. My dad was a Philly police officer. I grew up around hard workers and people who really care about what they do. We don’t half-ass anything. That’s the mentality I’ve always taken.”

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