Chauncey Billups has helped Emmanuel Mudiay through his struggles

Denver Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay had a rough sophomore season in the NBA. Since entering the league, Mudiay has failed to live up to the hype that surrounded him when the Nuggets selected him seventh overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

With that said, the point guard position is one of the toughest positions to play in the NBA, with it usually taking multiple seasons for a youngster to get a grip on how to play the position at the professional level.

One infamous star who struggled to get acclimated to the NBA’s style of play is former Nugget great and Colorado legend Chauncey Billups. Billups, now working for ESPN as a basketball analyst, bounced around between numerous teams before evolving into one of the most dynamic guards in the modern era of the game.

The similarities in struggles between Billups and Mudiay must have prompted the 40-year-old to reach out to the Congo Kid, something that Mudiay said helped him end the season on a strong note.

“I think going through what I went through, I think that was a big learning lesson for me.” Mudiay said of his disappointing second season. “The crazy thing is the support that I got from different players around the league. … Chauncey, everybody knows his story, how he went around the league for a little bit before he found his home. He helped me out a lot. That’s one person I can definitely give a shout out to.”

Mudiay averaged 11.0 points and 3.9 assists per game in his second season. At just 21 years old, there is still plenty of time for Mudiay to rejuvenate his career.

Down the stretch, Mudiay managed to elevate his game to another level, averaging 12.1 points and 5.2 assists while playing a smart, keen style of basketball in the month of April.

While the bad has certainly outweighed the good so far in his career, Mudiay still has the intangibles to be a pulsing point guard in the league, but he’s going to have to put in the work.

That said, Let’s see if Mr. Big Shot’s words of wisdom can help spark an outbreak for Mudiay to help fully develop his talent at the NBA level.