Who Is Julian Strawther? Meet the Nuggets Star Shining Against the Celtics in the Preseason

Julian Strawther has been on a roll and is entering his second season in Denver with a goal in mind. His first target was clear, as he clarified, “I wanted to win Summer League MVP.” And he’s undeniably continued living up to the hype, by averaging 28.3 points in just 2 preseason games against the Boston Celtics. Despite, however, losing the first two games, the youngster has led the points chart, but his Summer League was cut short, as the Nuggets decided to take a precautionary measure for an injury.

Strawther has high aims, alongside growing confidence- “I feel like I’m just carrying myself a little different. I’ve got a bit more pep in my step.” Implying the sophomore wants to prove his worth in the NBA this season, considering he missed a streak of games in January because of an injured knee, he has put in the work during the offseason, while eagerly waiting to get on the court.

Julian Strawther’s hoops success in high school and college

Julian Strawther was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 18, 2002. He went to Liberty High School in Henderson. While playing for his school in his junior year, the young hooper averaged a healthy 27.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, which was impressive! He leveled up his game in his senior year and averaged a phenomenal 31.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.

Before earning co-MVP honors in the Southeast League, he had also scored 51 points against Apollo High School, setting the event record. His performances were fantastic during his high school tenure. He went on to be No. 1 in his school’s all-time leaderboard in rebounds and points. This meant only one thing- colleges lining up to sign young Julian. He picked Gonzaga as his choice to play basketball in college.

Regarded as a 4-star prospect, Julian Strawther arrived at Gonzaga with big expectations. Well, in his junior year, he was used as a backup and averaged a mere 3.4 points a game. Which, by his standards, was pretty low.

In his sophomore year, he got better and averaged a respectable 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. He decided that this could be his time to take the next step and eyed to play professionally. So, he declared himself for the 2022 NBA Draft. Well, things did not go his way and ultimately he came back for another year to play college basketball at Gonzaga.

In his third year, his numbers got even better, and he averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. One of the highlights of his third season at Gonzaga was shooting a 35-foot basket to give his team the lead against UCLA, with only 6 seconds remaining on the clock!

Once again, he declared for the NBA Draft of 2023. This time he went on to become the 29th overall pick for the Denver Nuggets.

Julian Strawther’s rookie season with Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets

After being drafted to the then-defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. Julian Strawther was keen to prove himself in the big boys’ hoops league. Well, in his rookie season, Julian featured in 50 games for the Nuggets and netted an average of 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds. His breakout game came against the Pelicans, where he scored 21 points in just 19 minutes of action while going 5 of 9 from the deep and 8 of 13 from the field. Overall, his rookie season was inconsistent on the hardwood, with form and a knee injury in Jan, and although he showed a glimpse of his shooting ability, there’s still a lot of work to be done defensively.

Julian Strawther is a highly talented player who plays as a small forward/shooting guard. Even though his rookie season was an inconsistent one, he showed in a few games what he is capable of. He looks a better player and has put in some work in the offseason. Watching him play in the Summer League looks like this could be a breakthrough season for him.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.