It seems like reports about Emmanuel Mudiay of Denver Nuggets being a top contender for the rookie of the year seems to be gaining some statistical facts. Performance wise, the rookie point guard is indeed backing up his words with his actions on the court.
Mudiay once shared on yahoo that he will do his best for the team. Mudiay, on an interview stated that, "I'm going to just come in here and do the best I can to change that. I'm trying to win. When you win, everything is definitely better."
The path that Mudiay is on right now was never a smooth trail, for he likewise had a piece of criticism and rejections. Before landing on Nuggets, many teams have passed on him during the NBA draft. Mudiay being a seventh over-all draft was disregarded by LA Lakers Coach Byron Scott. A testament to this was Scott's statement via nypost saying that;
"I didn't think he was a true point guard. I didn't think he was a guy who made great decisions when we saw him and had him here. I thought that was something he would have to learn to do to run that position."
However instead being eaten by disappointment and disbelief, Mudiay used the negative criticism coming from the Lakers Coach. He used the incident and the message to challenge his own self to bring out the best of him. Mudiay looked on the brighter side of life even thanking Scott for his comment. "Thank you Byron Scott for saying I'm not a point guard," said Mudiay via yardbarker.
With such comment and the end performance of Mudiay, critics cannot help but compare the rookies of both teams, Denver and Lakers. Scott and the Lakers opted to choose D'Angelo Russell, the point-guard Lakers took second overall during the draft.
Comparing both players, Russell seemed to be having some troubles with his game, thus connecting his rumored relationship with model Kendall Jenner as a distraction for the Lakers point-guard. While on the other hand, Mudiay is having a steady game, especially with their match against the Lakers. Mudiay during a game had a double-double performance, scoring 12 points and 10 assist. And after all has been said and done, Mudiay has a message for the his fans and critics, saying that;
"They passed up on me. That's definitely a motivation. They took another point guard ahead of me. I'm a point guard. So I guess they saw something in [Russell] that they didn't see in me. Thank you Byron Scott for saying I'm not a point guard."
