When you think of elite power forwards in the league, people tend to lean towards names like Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony Towns, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Let’s not shy away from the fact that Paul Millsap has been an elite forward for several years, and yet no one seems to notice.
Millsap isn’t the type of person to run to the media or have a spotlight on him always. Yes, he’s an undersized big standing at 6’7″, but what he does with his size makes him fit right in. Millsap has averaged 15+ points and grabbed over 7 rebounds a game since 2011 when he was with the Utah Jazz. He gets left out of important conversations because of his humble demeanor, yet he just signed a three-year $90 million deal with the Denver Nuggets this off-season. His most recent home in Atlanta never showed any interest in the Louisiana Tech Product.
“It was pretty simple. Denver, they came and they’ve been wanting me for years. They made that known. The presentation that they gave me, it felt comfortable, it felt real. At the end of the day it was going to be the team that I felt most comfortable with and Atlanta. Atlanta decided to go another direction. They didn’t want to make an offer. So, it was pretty simple. Denver was the team.”
Although Millsap’s numbers pale in comparison to Karl Anthony Towns (arguably the best forward in the game), he is coming off one of his best seasons with Atlanta (18.1 PPG, 7.7 REB). In the past, the majority of the emphasis has been on his height at the PF position, but here’s some of the things he did last season being undersized:
Denver got a huge asset when acquiring Millsap mainly because of his versatility and what he’s capable of doing. His range is what makes him a threat around the league, because he creates mismatches on the floor. If he isn’t hitting the deep ball, then he’s punishing you down low with his post moves. Unlike other forwards, he plays both sides of the ball, even leading the Hawks in steals (1.7) last season.
Overall, the future of Paul Millsap is looking bright, and Denver is the perfect destination. He joins a back-court with Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray. Not to mention having a complementary big man and ultimate power house in Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets are ranked at 15 in the Power Rankings this season when last year they were at 17. There is only up one place to go from there for Denver: UP!