Bryce Alexander McGowens (born November 8, 2002) 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 who last played for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Rip City Remix The Rip City Remix are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in North Portland, Oregon, and are affiliated with the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. The team plays home games at the Chile ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He played

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for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

High school career

McGowens played basketball for

Wren High School Wren High School (WHS) is a public high school in Anderson School District One in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Athletics State championships * Bask ...

Piedmont, South Carolina Piedmont is a census-designated place (CDP) along the Saluda River in Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson and Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 5,411 at the 2020 Un ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 26.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and three assists per game, and was named Region 1-4A Player of the Year. He led his team to a Class 4A Upper State runner-up finish. In his junior season, McGowens scored a school-record 65 points in a second-round win at the Class 4A playoffs. He averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game as a junior, leading his team to the Class 4A Upper State championship game and repeating as Region 1-4A Player of the Year. For his senior season, McGowens moved to Legacy Early College in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

. As a senior, he averaged 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, earning South Carolina

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

honors. He was selected to the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

roster.

Recruiting

McGowens was considered a five-star recruit by

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and

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, and a four-star recruit by

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. On February 10, 2020, he announced his commitment to play college basketball for

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. On October 8, 2020, McGowens decommitted from the program. On November 13, 2020, he committed to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, becoming the highest-ranked recruit in program history and its first five-star recruit.

College career

In his college debut, McGowens scored 25 points in a 75–74 loss to

Western Illinois Forgottonia (), also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois (area west of 90° Longitude West) t ...

on November 9, 2021. On March 1, 2022, he scored 26 points in a 78–70 win against

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

but suffered a hand injury that forced him to miss the following game against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. McGowens was named to the Third Team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

as well as the All-Freshman Team. He averaged 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. On March 21, 2022, McGowens declared for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets (2022–2024)

McGowens was selected with the 40th overall pick 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

before being traded to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. On July 2, 2022, the Hornets announced that they had signed McGowens to a

. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Hornets and their

affiliate, 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 ...

. On February 26, 2023, McGowens' deal was converted to a multi-year contract by the Hornets. McGowens was waived by the Hornets on July 6, 2024.

Portland Trail Blazers (2024–2025)

On July 11, 2024, McGowens signed a

with the

. In 13 games for Portland during the

2024–25 NBA season The 2024–25 NBA season is the 79th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2024, and ended on April 13, 2025. The NBA held an in-season tournament for the second consecutive year, now called ...

, he averaged 1.0 point, 0.2 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. On March 26, 2025, while playing for the

, McGowens suffered a season-ending right rib fracture.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 46 , , 7 , , 17.1 , , .396 , , .325 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 59 , , 14 , , 14.9 , , .439 , , .333 , , .776 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 2.5 , , .286 , , .000 , , .833 , , .2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 118 , , 21 , , 14.4 , , .415 , , .323 , , .766 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 4.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 33.3 , , .403 , , .274 , , .831 , , 5.2 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .3 , , 16.8

Personal life

McGowens' older brother, Trey, played college basketball for

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

before transferring to Nebraska. His father, Bobby, was a two-sport athlete in basketball and football at

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

after playing football at Clemson. McGowens' mother, Pam, played basketball for Western Carolina. Both of his parents have coached high school basketball.

References

External links

*
Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowens, Bryce 2002 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Carolina Charlotte Hornets players Greensboro Swarm players Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players People from Pendleton, South Carolina Portland Trail Blazers players Rip City Remix players Shooting guards