Emmanuel Mudiay had to wait longer than expected to be drafted. Once considered a potential top overall pick in this draft class, he was rumored to go as high as fourth to the New York Knicks. He ended up going seventh to the Denver Nuggets, who already have an above-average point guard in Ty Lawson.

“They’re definitely up and down,” Mudiay said of his emotions. “You just don’t know, especially after Karl [Anthony-Towns] got picked, nobody really knew where they was going. But we’re definitely excited that I got picked to Denver.”

Mudiay was asked whether he felt his decision to play in China this past year, instead of at SMU, impacted his draft stock. 

“I don’t think it impacted, I just think maybe when I got hurt,” he explained. “You could have got hurt anywhere, so when I got hurt I think that’s what made my stock go down, I guess. But I’m in the NBA, I made it in, so it starts right now.”

Mudiay is open to teaming up with Lawson.

“I can just learn as much as I can from Ty Lawson,” Mudiay said of how he fits with Denver. “He’s been there a while, so I’m just going to try to get as much advice as I can.”

Moments after the Nuggets selected Mudiay, Lawson posted a video of himself on social media stating: “Told you, I’m going to Sacramento.”