NBA Draft: Denver Nuggets Found a Diamond In The Rough

With the No. 37 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft the Denver Nuggets drafted Hunter Tyson out of Clemson. Tyson is a 6-foot-8 wing that has elite shooting ability. How does he fit with the Nuggets?

The Denver Nuggets had a pretty interesting draft, as they gained a lot of experienced college players between Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett. They added elite shooters between Tyson and Strawther, which is going to fit well next to the best player in the NBA, Nikola Jokic. In this piece we’re going to be focusing primarily on Tyson and how well he fits on this roster.

The 6-foot-8 wing is averaging 21.7 points, six rebounds, and two assists per game while shooting 58% from the field, 51% from three and 89% from the free-throw line in the summer league. It’s a big bonus that the Nuggets got who they wanted on draft night as I reported back in early June that they had their eyes on Tyson.

The Denver Nuggets are eyeing Hunter Tyson. They hold the 40th overall pick.

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) June 4, 2023

With the departure of Bruce Brown the Nuggets will need one of their drafted guys to be ready for the moment come playoff time next year. Christian Braun will be expecting a bigger role with the team as the sixth man and guys like Strawther, Tyson and Justin Holiday will be other wings trying to carve out a consistent role with the team. Tyson could end up having the edge by the end of the season due to the combination of his size, shooting ability, and toughness.

The high level shooting wing brings a ton of shot versatility to this team. He excels as a stand-still shooter due to his great shot preparation and shooting ability. The movement shooting at 6-foot-8 is what could really separate him from the rest as that opens up the floor so much for his teammates due to his shooting gravity. You can use him as a receiver out of DHO’s due to his movement shooting and smart decision-making with the ball. Tyson can run off a variety of different off-ball screens to get a shot for himself or his teammates. As obvious as it is, having a guy like Nikola Jokic next to you just makes your life so much easier on the offensive end that a guy like Tyson could really thrive under him and coach Malone.

Early on in the season we shouldn’t expect a major role on the team out of Tyson as they’ll likely be serving minutes out to their vets, but as the season roles along and he gets the needed G League reps and NBA reps we could see him absolutely thriving by the end of his rookie year and heading into the playoffs as the Nuggets look to win back to back championships.

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