The lowlight of Bryce Hopkins’s best game of his young NBA career doubled as David Adelman’s favorite play from the rookie on Wednesday.
Late in the first quarter, Hopkins leaked out after contesting Immanuel Quickley’s deep 3-pointer and looked to have an easy bucket. There was just one problem. The 6-foot-7 forward fumbled Nikola Jokic’s outlet pass out of bounds, preventing what should’ve been an easy dunk and another Jokic assist.
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“My favorite play from Bryce the whole night was the outlet pass he dropped,” Adelman said after the Nuggets’ 128-109 win. “You finally get to play, you make a 3, you’re feeling momentum and then you drop the ball out of bounds. I didn’t see a reaction to that. He just kept playing.”
Hopkins was thrust into the rotation an hour before tipoff when DeMar DeRozan was ruled out with back spasms. Adelman didn’t hesitate to call the rookie’s number.
“When somebody is a consistent person on top of the fact that they know who they are when they’re on the court, that goes a long way,” Adelman said.
“They earn that through the respect of being a professional every day. … That’s half the battle in the NBA when you’re new, and Bryce has done that.”
The 24-year-old rewarded his coach’s trust by scoring a career-high 18 points on seven shots from the field. He also grabbed four rebounds, recorded a couple of steals and dished out an assist in 27 minutes off the bench, the most of any reserve.
“I feel like I’m just a very versatile player. I feel like I can create offense whether I’m off the ball or on the ball,” Hopkins said.
“Whatever the team needs me to do, I feel like I can do it. I feel like my physicality is big for me on the defensive end and on the offensive end. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’m willing to do it.”
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley, right, drives past Denver Nuggets forward Bryce Hopkins in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Despite blowing what should’ve been another Jokic assist, the 49th pick of the most recent draft has quickly earned the trust of some of the team’s most established players.
“He played really good basketball, professional basketball,” Jokic said. “He’s playing winning basketball, and I really believe in him. I think he can help us a lot.”
When asked what constitutes “professional” ball, Jokic listed a lot of the little things Hopkins did in his fifth NBA game — pressuring the ball in the final minutes when the win was all but secured, rebounding, boxing out and fighting through screens. Adelman added Hopkins has been consistent in his player-development and film sessions regardless of the playing time. Those are the kind of things that help a young player stay on the floor around the stars.
“The nights that Bryce has not played, there’s been no lack of trust,” Adelman said. “He’s earned this in the preseason. It’s just the steadiness every day.”
Through seven NBA games, Hopkins has started two, came off the bench in three and did not appear in two others. He’s limited to 50 games in uniform as long as he remains on a two-way contract, meaning he will likely spend some time in the G League this season. But Wednesday was the second time he scored in double figures. The Nuggets won his minutes by 11 points.
“When things are going good, you have to just stick to your roots and stick to what you’ve been doing. If I’m seeing success in what I’ve been doing, I’ve got to keep doing that stuff,” Hopkins said. “It’s just going to lead to good results.”