Julian Strawther spends day with Las Vegas youth at his back-to-school drive as he prepares to leave for his fourth season with Denver Nuggets.
HENDERSON, Nev. — It was more than being back at Liberty High School, fulfilling a goal he once dreamed of, giving back to his community, to the delight of little boys and girls.
For Julian Strawther, it was being among family during his first back-to-school drive.
It was having his sisters, Paige and Paris, orchestrate the event, with their father, Lee, there to support in any capacity. It was seeing men and women who were friends with his parents before all three of the Strawther children were born, those they grew up knowing more like aunts and uncles, help transform Liberty’s gymnasium for the four-hour event.
“I couldn’t envision it any other way,” Strawther told Ballislife during a 1-on-1 interview before the event. “I feel like everybody that’s in our circle is just so rooted in loyalty, and our love and trust for one another. These are the exact group of people that I would expect to be here.
“Loyalty was always a part of the occasion.”
GIVING BACK
Dozens of kids, elementary school-aged through high school, made their way to the event to receive brand new backpacks filled with school supplies and took pictures with Strawther, who is set for his fourth year in the NBA.
Strawther, acquired by the Denver Nuggets with the 29th pick in the 2023 draft, said it’s always been his dream to give back to the community.
“It’s one of those things you always think about, like, ‘Oh, when I make it, I want to give back to the community, I want to do this, I want to do that.’ But to have the opportunity to do it, and to do it at my school, at Liberty High School, to just have everybody come out and support and help me put this thing on, I mean, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Las Vegas’ Julian Strawther, of the Denver Nuggets, set to host his Back to School drive, with free backpacks and activities for local kids, giving back to his community.
Also, raffling off these autographed game worn shoes. pic.twitter.com/dKdfkk7l4w
— WillieGRamireZ (@WillieGRamirez) July 18, 2026
THE PROMISE
Strawther’s well-documented story is often accompanied by tears, as it’s a feel-good tale that never gets old.
The 24-year-old promised his mother, Lourdes, that he was going to make the NBA and accomplish his dreams. That was before she passed away from breast cancer in 2011.
Lourdes Strawther, affectionately known as “Cookie,” was her son’s biggest fan from the first day he ever stepped foot on a basketball court at Desert Breeze Community Center in Southwest Las Vegas. Though that day didn’t turn out as planned, as a much younger Strawther froze at center court like a deer in headlights and was brought to tears before being helped from the court, he most certainly overcame the jitters.
Strawther finished as Liberty’s all-time scoring leader, ranks 44th on Gonzaga’s all-time scoring list, and 19th on the school’s all-time 3-point list, and is headed into his fourth season with the Nuggets.
“She was at my first basketball game, and she came to every single one leading up to when she passed away,” Strawther said in 2021, after leading Gonzaga to a 20-point win over UCLA in Las Vegas. “I know she’s with me still, and I know that every time I step on the floor, my family is watching, and I got something to be proud of.”
Before donning a crisp white T-shirt and designer black pull-away sweats for his event, Strawther strolled around the gym in a white tank top with the constant reminder of the heartbeat he’ll forever hold close barely peeking through the fabric, a tattoo on the left side of his chest with a message his mother once wrote on a basketball.
“My beautiful son, Julian. Mommy loves you so very much forever, and ever. Love Mommy.”
Cookie would have been proud of her little boy, all grown up, a professional basketball player, making other little boys and girls smile.
TIME TO SHINE
Strawther, who is eligible for a rookie-scale extension, enters the fourth year of his rookie contract, set to earn $4.8 million, and will become a restricted free agent after next season if he doesn’t come to terms with the Nuggets.
Considering how he’s been used during the first three seasons of his career, Strawther has more than earned his keep.
The problem is it’s a team led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and includes other priorities in Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and newly signed Marvin Bagley III, to name a few.
Nevertheless, Strawther said he’s used the first three years as a learning lesson.
“I feel like just as many ups and downs as you could expect from a young player,” he said. “But in terms of the highs, I feel like I had some really high highs. Winning a playoff game, being an NBA rising star my second year, I mean, those are things that you would expect from some of the better young players in the league.
“And then, you know, also just learning and understanding that sometimes you’re not gonna play, and sometimes it might be a week stretch. It might be a two-week stretch, or it might be a day. But just trying to stay as level as I can.”
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound shooting guard went from averaging 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in his rookie season to a career high 9.0 points with 2.2 rebounds in his sophomore campaign with the Nuggets.
Last season, his numbers dipped a bit, to 7.2 and 2.0, but so did his minutes, even though he started a career-high 14 games.
Strawther has proved his worth as a starter during his career, averaging 14.2 points in 18 starts, as opposed to his 6.3 points as a reserve.
To put it in a better perspective, he averages around 27 minutes as a starter and one point every 1.9 minutes of playing time in that role, compared to 14.8 minutes as a reserve, but scoring a point every 2.3 minutes off the bench.
It’s his efficiency that will make him an attractive signing next season – be it Denver or somewhere else – as he’s shooting .466 as a starter and .420 as a reserve.
“For me, it’s just being able to contribute at a high level on a nightly basis,” Strawther said. “I feel like everyone knows that I can contribute at a high level, but it’s just the consistency of doing it every night, being in a rotation every night.
“Like these are all goals of mine going into the year, just being a vital part of what we’re doing in Denver.”
Goals, like the one he fulfilled for his mother on June 22, 2023, the night he was drafted.
Goals, like the one he fulfilled on Saturday, for those boys and girls who will always remember his name,
Goals, a word that’s become synonymous with Julian Strawther.
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