Denver Nuggets: Kenneth Faried Has the Most Heart In the NBA
Denver Nuggets star Kenneth Faried has the most heart in the NBA.
It is a known fact that the human heart beats about 100,000 times each day. Few can debate that the Denver Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried plays with more heart on the basketball court than anyone in the NBA.
During the course of a 48 minute NBA game (that rule should never change), Faried makes about 100,000 plays that effect the outcome of his Nuggets team. Maybe not 100,000. Seriously though, it’s time we start paying attention to Faried because he’s primed to have a great season.
If the Nuggets can win more games, or even if they don’t, we are all going to appreciate the tenacity that Faried plays with. Next season Faried is getting ready to join the star class of the NBA world.
Every NBA player has a unique skill, an innate ability that bleeds on the basketball court when they play. Some players are better shooters, some are more athletic than their peers, while others enjoy making the scrappy and hustle plays it takes to win games.
Faried’s game is the latter.
Besides Ty Lawson, fans tune in to see the Nuggets play because every time Faried steps on the court inside of the Pepsi Center, we can see how passionate he is. It seems like every game he’s running the fastest when the possession switches from offense to defense or vice versa. We see Faried routinely make energy plays like getting a next-to-impossible block and running in transition as the trailer of a fast break and finishing the play with a dunk.
Even when the moment isn’t a spectacular highlight play, Faried makes diving for a loose ball a highlight play because he understands that a big dunk is just as important as diving out-of-bounds to save a basketball. It’s the simple plays in a basketball game that cause momentum. It’s passion and energy that gives someone the motivation to do that every night.
The biggest attribute of Faried’s game isn’t his basketball IQ, or his rebounding ability, it’s his heart.
- You can take the heart of Russell Westbrook, and my God is he a fearless warrior on the court.
- Keep the heart of Kevin Garnett, who has played with more passion than I’ve ever seen on a court.
- Have the heart of Dirk Nowitzki, who never gives up and will relentlessly attack your team until he can win.
I’ll take the heart of Faried.
That heart that pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime is what got Faried into the NBA when he was an unknown commodity playing basketball for Morehead State and leading his school to an NCAA Tournament berth. That human heart that beats more than 2.5 billion times in a 70 year lifetime is what made Faried a starter on the 2014 FIBA World Championship team.
Playing on a team loaded full of superstars and blossoming young players such as Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Andre Drummond who will become elite players in the the NBA, Faried didn’t shy away and held his own ground. He averaged 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and shot 64 percent from the field.
In an interview with Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Faried said this about his summer playing for Team USA:
"“It was the greatest experience of my life,” Faried said. “I learned so much about basketball. Playing and practicing against superstars and being coached by Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), I came out of Spain a much better all-around player. My confidence is at an all-time high. I’m confident in my abilities. I’m confident in my teammates. I’m confident, period.”"
It’s heart, but don’t get me wrong, heart isn’t everything, it can only get a person so far. Talent is equally as important and thankfully Faried has more than enough talent.
Every year in the NBA Faried’s numbers have increased. What surprised me the most is that he has never played more than 30 minutes a game in a season. He is nearly giving the Nuggets a double-double in 20 minutes of game action.
That’s hustle. That’s energy. Better yet say it with me “That’s heart.”
Get ready for next season, because the summer that Faried had was not a blip, it’s the beginning of a trend. This year he’s ready to take the next step in his game and the NBA needs to get nervous.
It’s been said that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Don’t worry Faried will come to your city and give your team the business soon enough so you won’t have to miss him that much.
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