Collin Gillespie had one of the most unfortunate rookie seasons a player could have. The young guard from Villanova never even had a chance to set foot on the court for the Denver Nuggets due to a leg fracture. Not all things ended poorly though, as he's still considered an NBA Champion and was able to hoist up the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Now, it looks like Gillespie is ready for his comeback, and finally able to suit up for the Nuggets.
Gillespie spoke with Vinny Bendetto of the Denver Gazette, where he opened up about his injury and revealed that he's ready for NBA Summer League.
“I was just trying to get my conditioning ready to come back for training camp," Gillespie said about his injury. "It was a freak play. Somebody dove at me, and my leg got caught. I ended up breaking my tib(ia), fib(ula) and dislocating my ankle. It was a weird play. I felt bad for the kid who did it, because he was really upset. It happens. Everybody’s journey is different. It was a basketball play. It was just a weird play that happened, but I don’t think I want anybody diving at my legs anymore. But, I’ve been able to just kind of get into a rhythm and do everything kind of comfortably again.”
Gillespie was an NCAA champion in 2018, a 2x Third-team All-American, a Bob Cousy Award winner, a 2x Big East Player of the Year award winner, and more. His return is coming soon for the Denver Nuggets, and now he's just grateful to the organization for believing in him.
“Everybody’s body heals differently,” Gillespie said. “I was blessed and grateful to have a really good training staff, a bunch of great teammates and coaches that kind of just stuck with me. I was just rehabbing every day, trying to get a little bit better each day."”
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