The Denver Nuggets have done all they can to close the gap on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the rest for Western Conference, and by extension NBA, supremacy. Peyton Watson has surely taken notice of the changes.

On Thursday, only two days short of a total year since the injury, Holmes II was ready to make his 2025 NBA Summer League debut, injury-free, and was able to put together an impressive performance in his first complete game as a member of the Nuggets.

LAS VEGAS — Chris Livingston and Cormac Ryan scored 18 points each to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 90-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the NBA 2K26 Summer League on Thursday at Cox Pavilion.

Obviously want to see him knock down open shots, but try not to force too much,” Nuggets Summer League coach Andrew Munson said of Hunter Tyson. “We want him to still play

The best of them was French point guard Nolan Traore, who looked like a guy who has played against men before (he played professionally in France last year) and was comfortable, finishing with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting and getting to the line six times. It was a promising start.

The league shines a light on first-year players in Vegas, but a few second- and third-year guys are worth keeping an eye on, too.

Missouri basketball alum Tamar Bates played for the first time for the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. Here’s how he fared in his NBA Summer League debut.