Beasley brings confidence to summer league chance

Malik Beasley burst through traffic in the paint and elevated for an emphatic dunk. And as his feet descended back onto the Pepsi Center practice floor Sunday evening, he hollered “That’s what I (expletive) do!” to everybody in the gym.

Beasley is preparing for his third summer league with the Nuggets, a rarity for NBA players. But the 2016 first-round draft pick still feels he has much to prove in his quest to earn consistent minutes at the game’s highest level.

“I still didn’t play that much (last season),” Beasley said. “I thought I needed (summer league) to show what I can do. I just want to kill whoever’s in front of me — whether it’s right now or when we play (in Las Vegas).”

Beasley averaged 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 62 appearances as a reserve guard in his first full NBA season but was never a steady member of Denver’s 201718 rotation. Yet he spoke during his exit interview in mid-April about having a renewed focus following the all-star break, spending more time studying film and reading books than scrolling through his social media feeds.

That mentality parlayed into an offseason program that Beasley said makes summer league practices feel like “light work.” He has primarily trained in Atlanta and Los Angeles, adding at least five pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-5 frame. By the start of the season, he hopes to be up to 210 pounds, giving him an ideal combination of strength and quickness.

“I’m in the best shape of my life,” Beasley said. “I could keep going right now (after practice). … It’s another level for me.”

Beasley has been vocal during summer league practices, and not just while celebrating a monster slam. After receiving blunt instructions on how to run an offensive set from Nuggets assis- tant Jordi Fernandez, who is coaching the summer league team, Beasley yelled “same intensity!” to his teammates. When Monte Morris drilled a corner 3pointer, Beasley immediately lifted his hand for an enthusiastic high-five.

“He’s been a blast to play with,” Thomas Welsh, one of Denver’s 2018 second-round draft picks, said of Beasley. “Off the court, he’s been incredible, too. He’s been great, just trying to coach me and talk me through things these first couple days.”

Beasley excelled during summer league last year, leading the Nuggets in scoring in four of their six games in Las Vegas. The key for Beasley this time around, Fernandez said, is that every skill Beasley displays needs to apply to what he’ll be asked to do during the NBA season. That means consistently knocking down catch-and-shoot jumpers, exploding to the rim with one dribble and guarding effectively.

That, along with the occasional highlight dunk, would illustrate that Beasley deserves more minutes during the 2018-19 season.

“It’s testing me if I want to go through this just to (go) through it,” Beasley said. “Or do I want to get something out of it and be a leader?”