Former Nugget putting on a show for pro-am summer circuit

It’s easy to forget all the players who have passed through Denver over the years with all of the roster turnover that occurs in the NBA these days. But the Nuggets drafted a player recently who got off to a hot start, fell out of favor quickly, and now seems almost forgotten. Despite being just 23 years old, that player is Bones Hyland.

The Nuggets drafted Hyland with the 26th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft and he burst onto the scene. His flare with the ball turned heads and Bones was able to carve out a bench role thanks to offensive brilliance. It seemed like he’d be a fixture on the Nuggets for years to come.

But thanks to a one-dimensional skill set and inability to fit into the team or contribute on defense, Hyland quickly fell out of the rotation and got buried on Michael Malone’s bench. Before long he was dealt to the Clippers in a virtual salary dump and he’s been wasting away in LA ever since.

It’s a sad and surprising outcome for a player who showed so much promise early in his career. But that’s the reality of the NBA, the most competitive basketball league in the world. At such a young age, there is still plenty of time for Hyland to turn things around and work his way back to NBA relevance, but it will only get harder.

Bones Hyland lighting it up at Canadian Pro-Am event

Still, Bones can obviously still hoop and he has been reminding people of that this summer. On Friday, Hyland was in Canada at the Ball Don’t Stop Pro-Am event and put on a show for the ages. He scored 53 points while leading his team to a victory and pulled out just about every trick in his bag along the way.

It’s a nice reminder of the greatness of NBA players and how a guy who has been relegated to a benchwarmer can still come out and dominate lesser competition with ease. Hopefully, this is the start of a resurgence for Hyland. He’s too young and too talented to simply fade into oblivion. It would be a nice redemption story to see him hone his game and return to helping an NBA team.