Tyler Nelson (born August 9, 1995) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Science City Jena Science City Jena is a basketball club based in Jena, Germany that plays in the ProA. Their home court is the Sparkassen Arena, which seats 3,000. Their current head coach is Björn Harmsen. The team was known as Erdgas Baskets Jena through th ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

.. He played college basketball for the

Fairfield Stags The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I (non-football) in the Nat ...

High school career

Nelson is the son Anne Marie Nelson, a high school teacher and Jeffrey Nelson, a high school teacher and NBA scout with the Los Angeles Lakers, and brother to Alyssa Nelson, a math teacher. He grew up in

Bradford, Massachusetts Bradford is a village and former town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Eastern Bradford is the current town of Groveland, while western Bradford was annexed by the city of Haverhill, and today consists of the part of Haverhill o ...

. He attended Central Catholic High School and starred on the basketball team. He led Catholic to the Massachusetts Division I championship game. He was named Massachusetts's Gatorade Player of the Year. Fairfield assistant Martin Bahar convinced him to join the program.

College career

As a freshman, Nelson averaged 9.7 points per game on a 7–24 team and was named to the All-

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

Freshman Team. He averaged 16.0 points per game as a sophomore as Fairfield's record improved to 19-14 and the Stags took part in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Nelson was named to the Second Team All-MAAC as a sophomore. He posted 19.5 points per game as a junior as Fairfield went 16-15 and again appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. On February 15, 2018, Nelson scored his 2,000th career point in an 83–79 win over Marist. He had 32 points in a win over

Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...

on February 17. As a senior, he averaged 22.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He earned First Team All-MAAC honors for the second straight season. He finished his career with 2,172 points, the most in school history.

Professional career

Greensboro Swarm (2018–2020)

After going undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

, Nelson was signed by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

in the NBA Summer League and appeared in three games, averaging 1.3 points per game. Nelson was selected with the third overall pick of the 2018 NBA G League draft by the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

. He subsequently was added to the Swarm's training camp roster.

Texas Legends (2020)

On February 28, 2020, Nelson was traded to the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

alongside

Josh Perkins Joshua De Vante Perkins (born August 25, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the CS Maristes of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. High school career Perkins began his high ...

in exchange for

Quincy Acy Quincy Jyrome Acy (born October 6, 1990) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Wichita State Shockers of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). He played college basketball for the Bayl ...

and a second-round pick in the 2020 G League draft. On November 23, 2019, Nelson recorded 17 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in a win over the

Windy City Bulls The Windy City Bulls are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and are affiliated with the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls play their home games at Now Arena, from Chicago. It became the thirte ...

Rostock Seawolves (2021–2024)

On January 22, 2021, Nelson signed with the

Rostock Seawolves Rostock Seawolves is a professional basketball club based in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The club currently competes in the Basketball Bundesliga. The Seawolves play their home games in the Rostocker Stadthalle. Within the New sta ...

of the German

Kolossos Rodou (2024–2025)

On September 26, 2024, Nelson moved to Kolossos Rodou. On January 14, 2025, Nelson was released from the Greek club.

Science City Jena (2025–present)

On January 15, 2025, he signed with

of the German

ProA The ProA is the German basketball league system, second-tier Sports league, league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 16 teams. Officially the ProA is part of the ''2. Basketball Bundesliga'', which consists of the t ...

References

External links

Fairfield Stags bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Tyler 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Basketball players from Massachusetts Fairfield Stags men's basketball players Kolossos Rodou B.C. players People from Bradford, Massachusetts Point guards Rostock Seawolves players Sportspeople from Haverhill, Massachusetts Science City Jena players Texas Legends players