Peyton Watson, who is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, revealed his true feelings about playing alongside Nikola Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP and NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets.
Watson said Jokic taught him a lot as a basketball player, lauding him for his IQ and elite level of understanding of the game.
What Nikola Jokic Taught Peyton Watson
Jokic also taught Watson to understand his place on the court as it allowed him to have better looks to score.
“A lot. I think my IQ for the game has gotten a lot better just playing with him, knowing the right places to be at the right times and knowing how to play with a superstar is something that’s invaluable in this league with so much talent,” he said on his introductory press conference with the Cavaliers.
“I think you need to always know how to play off of other players and how to make other players better, even if you don’t necessarily have the ball in your hands. Playing with him was something that definitely sharpened my IQ and just my overall mentality towards the game,” Watson added.
Watson played four seasons for the Nuggets from 2022 to 2026, winning an NBA championship in 2023.
The 23-year-old defensive specialist weaponized a drastically improved jump shot to average a career-high 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game last season with the Nuggets, a staggering leap from his 8.1 points per game the year prior.
Watson converted an efficient 49.1% of his field goals and exploded for 41.1% from 3-point range last season with the Nuggets.
This campaign ultimately paid off in the summer, as his breakout year earned him a lucrative four-year, $88 million contract following a multi-team trade to the Cavaliers.
Peyton Watson Gets Valuable Lesson From Playing With The Denver Nuggets
Peyton Watson also understood playing a role well inside a team, especially with a roster like the Nuggets, which already had an established core of Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon.
Watson said he had to check his ego multiple times with the Nuggets and just focus on doing his best to contribute on the court. This gave him a valuable lesson about playing on a championship team.
“I think when you come up as a highly touted guy and somebody who always is used to having the ball in their hands, it’s a big adjustment for a lot of people, not only to check yourself and your ego, but to also go out there and play the game unselfishly and the way it’s supposed to be played, especially given the track record of some of the talented guys in this league,” Watson said. “Coming into Denver, I just wanted to find ways to keep myself on the court, and that was one of those things that not only helped me individually, but also helped my career.”
Watson would use those lessons with the Cavaliers, a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, led by Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley.
Watson is expected to be the team’s top perimeter defender and is seen to also be a knockdown shooter once again.
Peyton Watson Reveals Huge Lesson On Playing With Nikola Jokic