David Roddy made a familiar trip up Interstate 25 on Saturday afternoon.

It’s one he’s made countless times for the better part of a decade now —beginning when he first flew into Denver and visited the Colorado State campus for the first time as a high schooler. 

This trip was a little different, though.

Sure, the former Mountain West Player of the Year and All-American is always going to get a loud ovation when he shows up at Moby Arena. Kids still mob him for pictures and autographs — and he still doesn’t turn anyone down.

But this latest trip up to Fort Collins was much more spur of the moment than any other Roddy has made since he left the Rams as a first-round NBA draft pick nearly four years ago.

It came on an off day at the end of a whirlwind week for Roddy. One where he started it in the G League with the Raptors 905 and ended it back in the NBA for the first time in nearly a year, this time back in Colorado with the Denver Nuggets.

On Wednesday, Roddy suited up for his 21st G League game of the season at 11 a.m. local time in Toronto. Shortly after a “heartbreaking” loss in which he scored 27 points, Roddy got a call from his agent saying the Nuggets wanted to sign him to a two-way contract.

“It was a little surreal moment,” Roddy told The Denver Gazette. “I was still heartbroken and then also excited. Busy travel day, connected through Toronto to Chicago, Chicago to here, got in late (Wednesday) night and now we’re rolling. It’s part of being a pro.”

Roddy was on the Nuggets’ bench less than 24 hours later for the win over the Lakers and made his Denver debut the following night in the loss to the Knicks.

The 24-year-old from Minnesota isn’t naive to what he is at this point of his professional career: a journeyman. 

After being selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 23 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Roddy is now on his sixth team in parts of four NBA seasons.

He’s been grinding in the G League when he hasn’t been on an NBA roster, trying to prove he’s a capable wing with a reliable 3-point jump shot and solid defense. He even appeared in two FIBA World Cup qualifying games with USA Basketball last month.

Roddy is eager to show the Nuggets that they’re getting a version his previous teams haven’t seen.

“Just show my experience, just show what I’ve learned in the G (League), show what I’ve learned in the six teams I’ve been on before,” Roddy said. “Just being a journeyman, trying to be more mature, as well, and show how much I’ve improved on the court, whether that’s shooting, decision-making, defense, whatever the team needs me to do.”

With the squad still not back to full strength and with several more back-to-backs coming in March, there should be some opportunity for Roddy to get some more minutes as the Nuggets battle for seeding in the Western Conference ahead of the playoffs. 

“I’m just excited to be back,” Roddy said. “I’m just enjoying every single moment, whether that’s sitting on the bench or being in the game. Time will tell what happens, but I’m here to just enjoy the moment and compete.”

To celebrate the end of a long but rewarding week, Roddy returned to a place that is forever a second home to him. 

For nearly an hour after the Rams’ regular-season finale against Boise State, Roddy sat inside an empty Moby Arena with the guy who recruited him to CSU nearly seven years ago, Ali Farokhmanesh, while the first-year head coach’s sons played on the court — a full-circle moment for the program legend now suiting up in the NBA just down the road. 

“Extremely happy to be here,” Roddy said.