Nuggets first-round pick DaRon Holmes II could be out for the season

DaRon Holmes II’s rookie season is likely over before it even begins.

Drafted 22nd overall by the Suns and traded to the Nuggets, Holmes suffered a torn Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the entire 2024-25 season, according to reports.

The 6-foot-10 former Dayton star was injured in the Nuggets’ first game of the Las Vegas Summer League.

He reportedly left the arena on crutches.

“He’s obviously new here,” Julian Strawther, the Nuggets’ first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft, told reporters after the game, “but he brings such positive energy.”

Holmes was playing defense against the Clippers under the basket, and he left his feet to defend a jump pass before landing awkwardly on his right leg.

Holmes was expected to play a significant role as the Nuggets’ backup in their quest to return to the NBA Finals after last season’s loss to the Timberwolves in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Nuggets ranked 25th in the NBA in points scored by backups last season.

Holmes had 11 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes before his injury.

He started all 33 games for Dayton as a junior and averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Holmes said after practice last week that he was “excited” to play in the Las Vegas Summer League – and show off his versatility – with the other Nuggets players.

Dario Saric and Vlatko Cancar could play bigger roles for the Nuggets without Holmes.