Move over, Russell Westbrook. The Denver Nuggets have a new starting point guard — and his name is Jalen Pickett.
The former Penn State men’s basketball star made his first NBA start Tuesday night, appearing in the Nuggets’ starting five alongside Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon, and superstar Nikola Jokic.
Pickett proceeded to have one of the best games of his young career, finishing with nine points, five assists, and four rebounds on 75% true shooting despite the overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played a career-high 32 minutes and was +4 with 0 turnovers and one foul.
The Nittany Lion began working his way into Denver’s rotation in January and has been playing consistently since the beginning of February, missing just three of the Nuggets’ 24 games since then. He scored a career-high 14 points against Portland on Feb. 10 and matched that effort against Lebron James’ (and Luka Doncic’s) Lakers on March 14. He averaged 16.2 minutes per game in February and 13.7 in March.
Pickett’s entire basketball arsenal was on display in the matchup, impressing with his patented booty bully-ball paint tactics, hitting corner threes, and getting crafty with his passing.
Pickett was [**drafted**](https://x.com/WillHorstman_/status/1907276492964278536) by the Nuggets with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He spent two years in Happy Valley after transferring from Siena, leading Penn State to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011 during the 2022-2023 season.