The Denver Nuggets concluded their seven-game road trip on Wednesday, defeating the Boston Celtics to end their trip with back-to-back wins despite going just 3-4. Given the circumstances with all the injuries, a 3-4 record was just fine as the Nuggets are now building momentum without their star center Nikola Jokic out on the court.

Since Jokic has been sidelined, different players have stepped up, ranging from Jamal Murray, who is looking like an All-NBA talent, to Peyton Watson, who is earning every bit of his upcoming extension this next offseason. However, an unexpected riser has been Zeke Nnaji, proving that Denver didn't make a massive mistake in paying him.

Following a career-high performance in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers, where he scored 21 points, Nnaji followed it up with another strong performance, scoring 12 points in the win over the Celtics.

After the game, head coach David Adelman took some time to praise the big man for his contributions.

"I don't remember him ever moving this well. I really mean that. He guarded everybody in this game...He guarded all these people and just really sat down and kept people off and made them take contested shots over his length. Just cool to see him have some success, obviously hasn't been in the rotation," Adelman said.

In a game decided by four points, Nnaji was a +6, showcasing his value on defense with two steals and two blocks as well. Even though Jaylen Brown got his with 33 points, he did his best to hold the Celtics players in check.

"I like that he shot the ball. Shoot the ball when you're open. Don't doubt yourself...Just a really nice, clean game from Zeke," he added.

In October 2023, the Nuggets handed Nnaji a four-year, $32 million contract, which was surprising given he was coming off a season where he wasn't featured much in the team's NBA Finals run and averaged less than 14 minutes per game. It was a deal many fans around the league viewed as poor, but his recent performances may be an indication that he still has more to prove.

With Jonas Valanciunas out for a while as well and DaRon Holmes II not being that impressive, the time for Nnaji to prove his value to the organization is now. The more quality depth the Nuggets can have, the better it is for their title hopes come the postseason.