One of college basketball’s former cult heroes has officially earned his spot in the NBA.
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported Thursday that ex-Gonzaga big man Drew Timme has landed a two-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets. The move comes as Timme was just named NBA G League Player of the Week with the Long Island Nets (Brooklyn’s G League affiliate) on the strength of a recent 50-point game.
Now 24 years old, Timme was an omnipresent figure for the Bulldogs in college, making multiple All-American teams and winning multiple WCC Player of the Year awards during his four seasons at Gonzaga. Timme was also known for his heroics in March Madness, including in the 2020-21 season when he scored a team-high 25 points in the Final Four against UCLA to help Gonzaga advance to the national title game.
Timme ultimately went undrafted in 2023 but played for the Milwaukee Bucks in NBA Summer League and later joined their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. He also got an opportunity last year with a notable team in the Western Conference.
After ending up with the Long Island Nets this season, Timme had produced 23.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 asssists per game over 29 total appearances. Now he has managed to parlay that into a multi-year gig in the NBA.
At 23-50 this season, the Nets are very clearly in the middle of a rebuilding year. As such, Timme may be able to get a handful of appearances for them before the end of the regular season and could also serve as insurance beyond that with Brooklyn center Day’Ron Sharpe set to hit restricted free agency this summer. Let’s just hope that Timme has improved on his interview skills ever since college.
