LAS VEGAS — His body is bigger and leaner. He’s smarter. He’s much more mature.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili is trying to convince his lunch guest at the Hard Rock Hotel that he should get another chance in the NBA, listing the reasons this time will be different.

“I just turned 32, but I’m better,” he said. “I’m better at this age. I got stronger. I’ve got confidence. I got smarter.”

He’s got a comeback on his mind.

Chances are, even if you are a Nuggets fan too young to be dialed in to his career when he was drafted fifth overall in 2002, you still recognize the name.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

The name is synonymous with draft bust.

A Nuggets-centric website in 2014 warned: Is Jusuf Nurkic the next Nikoloz Tskitishvili?

Nurkic was not.

And, as Tskitishvili admits, he did little in his three seasons in Denver to convince anyone he belonged on an NBA court. He averaged 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds and shot 30 percent in 143 games. He was 19 years old, a 7-footer lean and not close to being ready mentally and physically for the NBA when the Nuggets drafted him. Thirteen years later, he still carries the burden of failed expectations.

“It’s very tough to make that decision, to draft a young guy with no experience, not ready physically, mentally,” Tskitishvili said. “You risk a lot. They trusted me so much, but I didn’t give them a chance.”

Kiki Vandeweghe, then the Nuggets’ general manager, made the call that would haunt the franchise.

“I feel like it was my fault, not Kiki’s fault,” Tskitishvili said. “I had to take care of myself better and stay patient. I should have listened to him. I used to tell him: ‘I want to get traded. I want to get a new chance.’ He was against that. This is why I respect that guy. He liked me, he loved me and I should have listened to him.”

Vandeweghe was in his first year as Denver’s GM.

“We had a lot of things going on at that time,” Vandeweghe said in a phone interview. “We had the Nene-Antonio McDyess (trade) with the Knicks. We had about five other deals that were close to happening. We had one other small deal. And then focused on the draft. I had not seen Skita play basketball in person. And so that’s not something that I probably would repeat ever, drafting somebody I hadn’t seen.

“But having said that, Skita was somebody who was very talented — 7-foot, could really shoot and run. Very athletic. Had all of the earmarks physically of somebody who had a chance to be very successful.”

But Tskitishvili could never get in a flow. Injuries slowed him. His confidence waned. And the Nuggets had other young talent who needed playing time.

“Every time he started to look great, he got hurt,” Vandeweghe said. “And he’d be out for a month or something like that. He’s one of those guys that never, ever got his rhythm.”

The Nuggets traded Tskitishvili to Golden State a month after George Karl took over as Denver’s coach in 2005.

Tskitishvili was in Las Vegas recently for summer-league play. He continues to show up nine years after he last played in the league, hoping for a longshot chance to prove his worth.

“I’m 100 times better than I was,” he said. “It’s just very difficult for teams to understand that, because they are looking at the number, the age. If you ask me, this is the best shape I’ve ever been in and the best I’ve been playing in my career.”

And if he got to choose a team to make his comeback? Yes, it would be the Nuggets.

“If I could get a chance to show that it was not a mistake …” he said, his voice trailing.

He last played in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns in 2006, under coach Mike D’Antoni, who coached him in Italy when he blew up as a hot prospect before being drafted. In the past few years, Skita has bounced around the world playing basketball.

He said as he looks back, he should have realized he wasn’t ready for the NBA. He should have stayed in Europe to refine his skills.

“You can blame me or you can find some reasons to blame,” he said. “When they draft you as a No. 5 pick, really I shouldn’t have taken it, and stayed in Europe a couple more years. But you can’t say no to the No. 5 pick. You might never come to the NBA.

“I was afraid for the future. This was my opportunity to be in the NBA. This was guaranteed. I had to take it. If I played overseas for a couple years or three years (though), I would be much better.”

He paused.

“If someone were to give me an opportunity, I’m so sure, I’m so confident that I can play.”

Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost