Few players enter the NBA with less certainty than an undrafted rookie. Fewer still manage to turn that uncertainty into a rotation role on a contender while simultaneously building influence inside the league office and the business world.

Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones has quietly done both.

From spending draft night in a barber shop waiting for a call that never came to later sitting across from NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussing player health innovation, Jones’ journey has been unconventional even by modern NBA standards. Now in his second season and carving out minutes alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Stanford product is embracing a role built on defense, spacing, and adaptability.

Jones spoke exclusively with EssentiallySports about his NBA transition, learning the Nuggets’ offense, mentorship from teammates, and his ambitions on and off the court.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

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Take us back to draft night. What do you remember feeling?

“Yeah. Um I had a thought that I would go undrafted. I knew I was going to be at the tail end of the draft. And you know, when you’re at the tail end, you kind of know you’re on similar contract, that two-way contract pretty much.

I actually remember where I was on draft night. I was in a barber shop getting a haircut. Um as it was going on. Um and yeah, you know, you hear the names get called, you’re kind of bummed as it gets to 60 and your name’s not called, but then your agent calls like, ‘All right, here. Look, we’re going to be fielding offers on two-way deals and stuff like that.’”

He eventually landed in Denver after a brief Summer League stint.

Did All-Star Weekend feel like a full-circle moment?

“Yeah… the kind of full circle moment was you know it it was funny I I had a personal meeting with with Adam Silver… we kind of did a make do one in the office and stuff like that cuz he knew I was undrafted.

And then… going to that NBA launchpad moment… giving my own perspective on what they’re doing well and maybe what’s missing… having an opinion at the table there, um, you know, at this early stage is incredible for me.”

What was your welcome-to-the-NBA moment?

“My welcome to the NBA moment didn’t really come in game. It came like practice… I got ripped by Russell Westbrook like twice… and then the practice pretty much ended with me getting dunked on by AG on an alleyoop jam and I was like all right this thing might end a lot faster than than than I thought.”

Biggest adjustment from college to the NBA?

“The biggest adjustment from college to NBA technically is pace and space… around games 35 to 50 there’s a little lull… you realize you’ve never played more than like 33 games in a season.

You got to figure out how to pump yourself up… that’s where the professionalism kind of kicks in.”

What are you working on in your development?

“The main stuff is really efficiently being very efficient in my movement… that’s a big part of defense… part of the reason why I’m getting paid for my defense.

Beyond that… ball handling… making sure my shooting mechanics stay very similar… just really kind of perfecting more of that kind of 3 and D role.”

Which teammates helped you most?

“Aaron Gordon… helped me figure out the dunker spot… especially it’s really around Jokic… if you learn it, you get very easy baskets off it because Jokic is a very good passer.

Christian Braun… how to navigate being a young player… without messing up what is a generational offense.

And then Jamal Murray’s been great… I’ve missed like four shots in a row, he’s still feeding me the ball… he’s like shoot that, shoot it like every time.”

What is it like playing with Jokic and Murray?

“There are definitely specific places you want to be to give Jokic and Jamal the opportunity to have as much space as they can… once you do and get confidence there, you’ll find out there are easy baskets all over the floor and why that’s what makes our offense so good.”

Walk us through your game-day routine.

“You’ll wake up, get a quick shooting workout… shootaround… then you’re on your own for about four hours… maybe write a LinkedIn post.

I’ll take a nap… red light therapy… Pison to measure mental readiness… 10-minute meditation… pregame workout… contrast therapy… then get ready to play.”

Advice for undrafted players trying to make it?

“Discipline… time management… not trying to fit in so much… a lot of what I’ve built has been from not fitting in.

The biggest thing that’s helped me in my career is role recognition always… defense has been the main thing to get me on the court.”

Your goals moving forward?

“Win a championship… have a long career… always making sure I’m on a competitive team.

Off the court… build a successful venture fund… and eventually build a company of my own… I’m very early in my career so just excited to where everything leads.”

From barber-shop draft night to contributing on a contender and advising the league on innovation, Jones’ story reflects the modern NBA role player. Not just someone who fills minutes, but someone who understands systems, adapts constantly, and thinks beyond basketball.