Former Clemson star Hunter Tyson erupts for monster performance in NBA Summer League

The Denver Nuggets absolutely throttled the Miami Heat in their NBA Summer League matchup on Friday night, 112-81, the largest margin of victory in the 2023 version of the Summer League. A big part of that 31-point beatdown came from the hot hand of former Clemson star Hunter Tyson.

He was unguardable from the opening tip, exploding for 31 points in 27 minutes of work. Tyson only missed two shots all evening, he shot 11-for-13 from the floor and connected on seven of his three-point attempts. Not only that, he also grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists.

The Nuggets as a team drilled 52.9 percent of their three-point attempts and shot over 57 percent from the field.

Tyson also had one of the most spectacular plays of the evening, when he drove baseline and threw down an impressive dunk.

Check that one out below.

Hunter Tyson with the mean dunk. Has 12 points in the 1st Quarter on perfect shooting pic.twitter.com/CmUg9cxaoH

— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) July 15, 2023

Through his first four games in NBA Summer League action, he’s averaging 21.8 points, 58.3% from the field, and 51.7% from three-point range.

For more on Tyson’s impressive showing this summer in the NBA Summer League, check out the article below from On3’s Grant Grubbs.

Hunter Tyson has been a man on a mission this summer

It’s been an impressive summer so far for Tyson.

Hunter Tyson didn’t hesitate to show the Denver Nuggets why they made the right draft pick. The former Clemson forward was dominant during Denver’s first Las Vegas Summer League game.

Although the Nuggets fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 92-85, Tyson shined. The No. 37 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft dropped 21 points and five rebounds while shooting 7-13 (53%) from the field and 3-7 (42%) from beyond the arc.

Those familiar with Tyson won’t be shocked by the standout performance. Tyson exponentially improved over five seasons at Clemson, boasting his best season in 2022-2023. The 6-foot-8 star averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Additionally, Tyson is a former four-star recruit. The North Carolina native was the No. 195 overall recruit in the nation in the Class of 2018, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Although many NBA experts criticized the Denver Nuggets rookie’s ability to guard NBA-level talent, he looked excellent on defense last Friday. Tyson recorded three blocks, highlighting his defensive performance with a nasty swat on former Gonzaga star Drew Timme right before time expired in the first quarter.

While the Nuggets are certainly happy with their pick based on the way he’s played this summer, the Clemson alum wasn’t expected to be drafted as early as he was. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell discussed the situation.

“We did think he was going to get picked. We had good intel that there were a couple of teams that liked him and his agent had told us that more than likely it was going to happen,” Brownell told On3. “It seemed like he was starting to move up. The closer it got to the draft, it was like, ‘Man, at first, we were thinking it might be around 50 or whatnot.’ Then you started hearing it might be in the 40s or possibly even in the 30s.

“We knew Denver liked him, so that was cool. Man, I was just so happy for him and excited. I feel like college basketball needs some of that right now. We need to see guys who show grit, who stick with things, who persevere, just keep getting better and develop. And Hunter Tyson is the epitome of that. I’m just really happy to see him get rewarded,” Brownell said.

On3’s Grant Grubbs also contributed to this article.