Since being drafted 26th overall in the 2021 NBA draft by the Nuggets, it has been quite the roller coaster ride for Bones Hyland. He showed promise in Denver during his rookie year, but ruffled enough feathers on a team that was trying to win a title that he was traded shortly into his sophomore season.
He bounced in and out of the rotation for the Clippers for a couple of years, but never broke through and made a consistent impact, eventually ending up in Minnesota. Things were slow for Bones there as well, but now, in his fifth NBA season, and his first full season with the Timberwolves, things are finally starting to click.
With Mike Conley again and Rob Dillingham not aging quickly enough, the T-Wolves have had a desperate need for point guard help. Over the past 20 games, they’ve given Bones that opportunity, and he has risen to the occasion.
In December and January, Hyland has appeared in 20 games for the Wolves, and he’s putting up 9 points and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 45% from the floor and 37% from three-point range. He’s helping keep things running for the second unit and contributing to winning for a team that is looking to build on back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances.
Bones Hyland finally learning how to fit in to a winning team in Minnesota
The talent has always been there for Hyland; the issue has been channeling that, picking his spots, and being able to fit into a winning team concept and culture. As a 25-year-old, he’s starting to check some of those boxes, and it has been a welcome sight for Minnesota.
We’ll see if this sticks for Hyland and the Wolves, but it appears to be a nice pairing for now. He showed star potential at a young age, and that ability is still in there somewhere, as evidenced in a recent win over the Bucks in which Bones dropped 23 points and 5 assists in just 21 minutes, drilling 5-7 threes.
With his limitations on the defensive end and his size, it was probably unlikely that he would ever have been a star in the league. But if he keeps up with the work and buys in, there’s no reason that Bones can’t be a positive NBA role player who ends up having a very long career.
For the sake of Nuggets fans, let’s just hope it doesn’t end up happening in Minnesota.