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Learning his way around Denver, Nikoloz Tskitishvili finds a good co-pilot
A Rookie's Work Is Never Done

By Rob Peterson, NBA.com

Denver Nuggets rookie Nikoloz Tskitishvili can't wait for the season to begin.
It's not the two-a-day practices or new plays that had him tired in the preseason. As a matter of fact, he says he's been sleeping better since arriving in Denver. It's the shopping that has Tskitishvili worn out.

Skitishvili will try to find his way on the court and through Denver. Garrett Ellwood NBAE/Getty Images

"Would it be OK if you call back?" Tskitishvili asked a couple days ago. "I'm out shopping for furniture."

Sure, no problem. Talking on the cell while you're concentrating on buying a fridge probably isn't a good idea. A couple days later, "Skita," as he is known, is on the line. So, how'd the shopping go?

"I'm going with my friends -- because these last three days were so busy practicing -- to buy some stuff for the kitchen, the bedroom, a refrigerator," Skita said. "It's so difficult.

"It's harder than practice, in the shops and choosing the stuff."

Such is life in these United States for this 19-year-old rookie from Tbilisi, Georgia (and we don't mean the one just north of Florida). Skita, who turned pro when he was 16 and played for Benetton Treviso in Italy last season, is bringing his mother and brother to Denver. Skita's counting on mom to spruce up the place.

"My mother comes today to take care of the home," Skita said. "She's going to make it look beautiful. She knows home design."

Skita also knows mom needs to be entertained while he's on the road with the Nuggets.

"When I bought the TV, I buy to have for my mother," Skita said. "The bedroom and the furniture, I bought it already. The rest my mother is going to buy."

While being the fifth pick in the draft affords one the ability to buy luxuries beyond most anyone's wildest dreams, Skita is taking it slow with the conspicuous consumerism.

"I didn't buy nothing special," Skita responded when asked if he purchased the latest in gadgets. "I don't want too much. I'm not in a hurry."

Though, Skita did treat himself to one item. He bought himself a Lincoln Navigator.

"The Lincoln Navigator, it's my own," Tskitishvili said. "It is my wish to have my own. Everything has been for mother, but this is my own, from my own pocket."

DRIVE HIS CAR:
"The Lincoln Navigator, it's my own. It is my wish to have my own. Everything has been for mother, but this is my own, from my own pocket."
--Tskitishvili on his new car

Plus, the mammoth vehicle fits its owner. At 7-0 and 225 pounds, Skita's a big man who needs a big car. Plus, he loves to drive.

"It's so comfortable, it's big," Skita said. "We don't have big cars like that in Europe, like in America.

"It's difficult (for me) to drive (in Europe) because (the cars are) so small."

With the smell of new leather seats in the air and a TV for the passengers, Skita gets behind the wheel, but not before he fires up his co-pilot.

"I put in a navigation system," Tskitishvili said. "I need it. I get lost. The cities are so big here.

"It shows me the streets and it talks to me, 'Turn left here, go straight, take a right after 100 feet.' It tells you everything. She's nice."

She?

"It's a woman's voice."

When Tskitishvili isn't out driving, he's made fast friends with many of the Nuggets rookies such as Predrag Savovic and Nene Hilario, who shares Skita's love for Italian food.

"We go out to get nice Italian food," Skita said. "My favorite dish is spaghetti with the mussels. I like everything; lasagna, carbonara, pizza, chicken parmigiana."

Does the Italian food in Denver compare with the food you would eat in Italy?

"It's different," Skita said. "But there are real Italian restaurants with Italian service ... What do you call them? The people who prepare the food? Cooks?"

Chefs?

"Yes, the people who prepare the food. Some of the chefs are Italian. There are some restaurants there that are not real Italian. We go to four or five different restaurants."

Skita's enjoying his time in Denver ("With the snow, it looks so nice, like my hometown back in Georgia. I'm really happy to be here."), but he's also looking forward to seeing the rest of the U.S. Los Angeles is at the top of his list. He's already been to New York.

"(New York) is really nice," Skita said. "You will really enjoy it, a lots of shops. It's nice, but it's too busy, it's difficult to sleep, but to be there for two weeks is fine.

"If you play there and live in downtown, you can't rest. It's too loud. You need to live far away from downtown."

While Tskitishvili discovers this country that is new to him, he'll find himself in familiar surroundings on the basketball court.

"I just want to play great, that's my wish, nothing else," Skita said. "I want to show people that I can play."

Tskitishvili got his first chance on Oct. 30 when the Nuggets played the Timberwolves in Minnesota. There, Skita faced his hero, Kevin Garnett, who, like Tskitishvili, was 19 when he broke into the NBA.

"I'm very excited about that and I'm happy to guard him," Skita said. "He's my favorite player. It's the best feeling.

"It was my wish, my dream to play with them. I had pictures of them, and I'm playing against him in life. It's really exciting."