Michael Porter Jr has had to overcome more hurdles than most on the way to making his first NBA start.
But when he did, it was more than worth the wait as he was joint-top scorer for his team on the night alongside Will Barton with 19 points, shooting a superb 8-of-10 from the floor, in the Denver Nuggets' 120-115 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Porter Jr last started a basketball game some 779 days prior to this one, on November 10, 2017 when he was making his competitive debut for the University of Missouri before suffering a lower back injury in the first half of the season opener against Iowa State which would keep him out for the entire year after surgery.
The cumulative effect of that was that it saw him fall from being the number one college prospect and McDonald's All-American Game MVP to being selected as far down as 14th in the 2018 NBA Draft.
As if that wasn't enough, Porter Jr then had to suffer the frustration of sitting the entirety of his first season as an NBA player due to further surgery.
He had to wait until Halloween this year to make his debut in the NBA, coming off the bench with 15 points, four rebounds and an assist in a 107-122 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 21-year-old scored in double-digits for only the second time of his career on Saturday night, recording 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block in 18 minutes of work during the 119-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Then, on Sunday, it got real. Gary Harris was a gametime decision for coach Mike Malone, but ended up missing his first game of the season with a bruised shin, so Porter Jr was given the news just before tip-off that he was starting.
"I was just happy to be able to start," he said. "I wanted [Gary Harris] to be able to play but he's recovering from minor injury.
"I was just wanting to blend with that starting group and do what I could on the court just to make their job easier and be a positive part of the team.
"I feel less nervous starting just because you go straight from warming up into the game instead of sitting down and watching. It felt pretty natural. My team-mates all encouraged me and told me 'don't think too much, just play my game' and that's what I tried to do."
Ultimately, Porter Jr finished with a new career-high 19 points and six rebounds and one assist in his 26 minutes of action, which only serves to build on the work the young forward has put in throughout the 2019-20 season to get himself NBA-ready.
"I thought he was great," center Mason Plumlee said. "He hit shots, but he affected the game in other ways. He's going to help us a lot."
Despite the ease with which he assimilated on his first start, for Porter Jr it hasn't always felt like this moment was destined to come.
Just as much as his body has prevented him from playing the game he loves, the colossal mental challenge his particular set of circumstances presents to such a young player cannot be underestimated.
It's been far from easy, but he admits the support of his parents, including his father Michael Porter Sr, director of player development with the Missouri Tigers, has helped him stay positive enough to finally make his league breakthrough.
"I get down a lot, day-to-day it's quite tough sometimes going through the injuries that I've gone through, but they always tell me you're going to be thankful for this in the long run, it's going to make you a stronger person and a better player so I try to just think of that when it's hard.
"We got a really, really good team and there's a lot of really good players playing a lot of minutes right now so you've just got to be thankful when you're in the game and just try to play as hard as you can.
"It means a lot to me. I've been through a lot and just to be out here, getting a career-high, it means a lot."
And for the fans in Mile High City there is reason to be excited. With a lineup of Jamal Murray, Barton, Porter Jr, Jerami Grant and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets got a look at a potential lineup of the future, and it thrived in Sunday's victory.
Denver held a small advantage through the early portion of the first quarter, as Porter Jr was active early and finished with six points, three rebounds and one assist in his eight first quarter minutes.
Porter Jr instantly helped fuel a 14-3 run for the Nuggets once he checked back in during the middle stages of the second quarter, which gave Denver momentum heading into the halftime break. The 21-year-old forward finished the half with 12 points and five rebounds as the Nuggets took a 62-57 lead.
"I just look for my opportunity," he said. "I wasn't trying to force anything, I just take what the defense was giving me because I can't shy away from shooting because that's what I do.
"I was just trying to make sure that my shots were in the flow of the game, get my team-mates involved if I could and just play my part."
In the second half, Porter Jr continued to produce across the board for Denver. As the Nuggets looked to build on their momentum in the fourth quarter, Denver's rookie forward went on a 5-0 scoring spurt in which he followed up a contested three-pointer with a putback dunk that brought the Pepsi Center crowd to its feet.
"I didn't expect those numbers, but I knew that if he was given minutes and a chance, he's just too talented and the game comes too easy for him, especially offensively," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said.
After struggling to maintain a consistent role in the team's rotation throughout the early stages of the season, Porter Jr has carved out significant playing time in recent games and has seized the opportunities presented to him.
"He's coming along and I appreciate how patient he's been, since it has not been easy," Malone added. "He gets a chance to start and I was excited for that opportunity for him and he went out and played great. This is just a glimpse of what's to come."
Powerful words from Malone and it would take someone with a heart of stone not to wish Porter Jr well as he continues on his journey to try and fulfil his undoubted superstar potential.