Who is Facundo Campazzo? The Denver Nuggets 29-Year-Old Rookie Guard Is Making An Impact In The NBA

DENVER (CBS4) - When Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told Facundo Campazzo that he made the NBA's Rising Star roster, his response was, "I made it? What is this? What did I make?" It's just another adjustment the 29-year-old Argentinian had to make in his first season in the NBA.

Campazzo came to the Nuggets in the offseason signing a two-year, $6.4 million deal and he hasn't disappointed. In the 30 games he's played (one start), he's averaging 5.5 points, 2.1 assists, and one steal in 16.3 minutes per game. He uses his slight 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame to attack the floor with his high-energy defense and highlight-reel passes. He recently landed on the CBS Sports NBA Rookie Power Rankings, with Jasmyn Wimbish writing that Campazzo is "an artist with the ball."

Campazzo's strong play earned him a roster spot on the NBA's Rising Star team, the league's annual showcase of premier young talent of first-and-second year players from in and outside the United States during the NBA All-Star Weekend.

"The coaches in the NBA look at Facu as a guy who has a real role on a good basketball team," Malone said. "He comes into the game and impacts the game at a high level on both ends for us."

A native of Cordoba, Argentina, Campazzo's road to the NBA started overseas when he went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft. He signed with Real Madrid in 2014 and over the next five seasons he averaged 8.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 41.9 percent from the field. He played in 63 games for the Argentina national team including eight games in the 2012 London Olympics and led them to a silver medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Campazzo is also a two-time Euroleague Champion (2015, 2018) and a three-time Liga ACB winner (2015, 2018, 2019) while also winning the Liga ACB finals MVP in 2019. The Liga ACB is the top men's professional basketball league in Spain.

The Nuggets hope to have Campazzo back in the lineup once the All-Star break ends, as he has had to sit out the last three games as he's in the NBA's health and safety protocols due to contact tracing.

Denver is 21-15 and sits in sixth place in the Western Conference Standings. They will start the second half of the season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday at 6 p.m.