A former Tiger star is heading to “the league.”
On Thursday night, Hunter Tyson got the call from the National Basketball Association’s Oklahoma City Thunder before being quickly traded to the Denver Nuggets, who received the forward with the 37th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
It’s an incredible moment for the North Carolina native, who is the first Tiger to be drafted since Jaron Blossomgame in 2019, and the highest Clemson draft pick since K.J. McDaniels in 2014.
Tyson will head to the Mile High City alongside Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett to complete the Nuggets’ 2023 class. The NBA Champs decided to lean towards experience and offensive skill in their draft strategy. Tyson will hope to use his experience and his successes on the offensive side to provide immediate help for the defending champions off the bench, learning from incredible players like Aaron Gordon and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
The former fifth-year senior shined in his final year at Littlejohn Coliseum, averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Tyson shined through his “stretch-four” success beyond the arc, shooting 40.5% from three-point range. His performances last year earned him a first-team All-ACC nomination.
Tyson is the fifth Tiger to head to the NBA under Brad Brownell, who has advocated strongly for Hunter to be selected on Thursday night since Clemson’s season ended. The former Clemson star was not high on experts’ mock drafts, with some mock drafts putting Tyson towards the end of the second round and even some believing he would go undrafted. The forward had excellent performances during the NBA Draft Combine events, allowing him to rise into an early second-round selection.
Next up for Tyson? The NBA Summer League, where he will try to prove himself and try to get onto the Nuggets’ roster next fall and enter the rotation. With the Summer League set to start on July 3, Tyson’s first action will be on Friday, July 7, when the Nuggets will face the Milwaukee Bucks in Denver’s first matchup this summer.
