Rookie Hunter Tyson Shows Promise Amidst Injury Setback
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The second half of the 2023-24 NBA season is underway and former Clemson basketball standout, Hunter Tyson, is expected to miss a fifth consecutive NBA game on Sunday due to an injured left finger (sprain/fracture).
The Denver Nuggets 37th overall pick in the 2023 Draft has spent his rookie campaign with the defending champs and in the G-League with the Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets affiliate).
Tyson lit up the Las Vegas summer league in July by averaging a team-leading 20.8 ppg in five games, placing him second among rookies and 11th overall in the league.
After the strong summer, Tyson began the season in October on the bench for the Nuggets. In four games, he tallied two points, five rebounds, and one assist in 20 minutes.
On Nov. 9, Tyson was assigned to Grand Rapids.
In 14 games, he is averaging a team-high 22.8 points along with 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals. He is also knocking down 39 percent of his three-point attempts.
Additionally, Tyson is seventh overall in scoring in the G-League and second among rookies, trailing only Kobe Bufkin, who averages 23.6 points and is fourth overall.
The Monroe, NC native was really sizzling on three particular nights.
He scored a then career-high 33 points on 10 for 17 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 121-83 win over the Wisconsin Herd on Dec. 16.
On Jan. 2, he notched a new career-high in points with 34 on 11 of 18 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc with eight rebounds in the 147-113 loss to the Birmingham Squadron.
Tyson would once again score 34 points in a 110-97 win over the College Park Skyhawks on Feb. 9, his most recent game with the Gold.
With the Nuggets hampered by injuries to key players, Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tyson was recalled recently on Jan. 16, assigned back to Grand Rapids on Jan. 30, and recalled again on Feb. 12.
Before his finger injury, his last game action was on Jan. 25, when the Nuggets were thumped 84-122 by the New York Knicks.
The former All-ACC first-team forward, who averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds as a fifth-year senior for the Tigers in 2023, next opportunity to play will come against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.