A little luck could go a long way for Zeke Nnaji.

Through three years of his NBA career, he hasn’t had much. The 22-year-old has played in 136 regular-season games and 12 more postseason games in his time as a professional. That number would be much higher if he had better fortune.

“Every chance that Zeke has gotten a chance to play, he’s gone out there and played well, but unfortunately there’s been an injury, and it’s been an injury that has caused him to miss a significant amount of time,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Monday. “For Zeke, it’s being healthy, being available and going out there and playing his game. He’s shown he can do it. Now, the only question I have is that can he do it consistently and can he stay healthy?”

In his first two seasons, Nnaji proved himself to be a versatile defender capable of stretching defenses from the 3-point line. He shot 40.7% from deep as a rookie and jumped up to 46.3% in his second year. Nnaji added significant muscle ahead of his third season. He hoped it would help keep him healthy, especially considering his role change to back-up center. Knee, ankle, shoulder and finger injuries limited Nnaji to 53 regular-season games, a new career-high last season, but his 3-point percentage dropped to 26.2%.

“I changed my form,” Nnaji said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s a process, and I’m happy with the results. I knew the numbers were going to go down. That was inevitable, but overall, the way I’ve changed my shot is going to help me shoot the ball much better.”

Nnaji spent the offseason working with Nuggets shooting coach Mike Penberthy. They tried to expedite Nnaji’s release after noticing there was a slight pause at the top of his previous shot.

“It was definitely difficult at first, because I shot it that way my whole life. But after about a couple of months, you kind of start to get it. Then, it’s about repetition and just building that muscle memory, creating those good habits that you need to sustain your new shot,” Nnaji said.

“My rhythm feels a little bit better.”

His attempts also dropped from two per game in 2021-22 to 1.4 last season. That could be related to more minutes playing center. As a power forward, Nnaji spent a lot of time in the corners, forcing teams to respect his shot. As a five, he’s more involved as a screen in pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop sets. In a rare stroke of luck, Nnaji has two very different leaders to learn from. Nikola Jokic does most of his teaching by example, while DeAndre Jordan’s quick to share a helpful word.

“Just watching Jok, seeing how he plays and what he does has really taught me a lot,” Nnaji said. “

“DJ, he’s also been great at pointing out little things. He’ll pull me aside in the middle of the game and he’ll tell me things that he sees, things I could be doing better. Both of them have been great.”

Between the three years of on-and-off experience and trusted vets showing him the way, Nnaji’s feeling pretty good about his future.

“I feel like I do everything to the best of my ability from what I eat to how I sleep,” Nnaji said of his bad injury luck. “All that stuff, I feel like I do, so I have no regrets. I’ve had some stuff that I couldn’t control.”

Nnaji is still eligible for an extension on his rookie contract. The Nuggets exercised team options on him the last two seasons, and he’s under team control for the next two seasons to start the year.

“It will be a really important year for Zeke Nnaji. Hopefully he can stay healthy, and he can continue to showcase his abilities on the court,” Malone said.

Denver not chosen for WNBA expansion

Fans hoping for a WNBA franchise in Denver will have to wait for another round of expansion.

After visiting Denver in August to explore the feasibility of a franchise in the Mile High City, the WNBA announced San Francisco as the home of its 13th team Thursday. The league is expected to add a 14th team later this year. Portland and Toronto are believed to be the frontrunners for the next market added to the league, according to multiple reports.