Daishen Nix ( ; born February 13, 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 for the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

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 was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s in the 2020 class. A former

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

signee, Nix bypassed playing

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and joined the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite was a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Originally based in Walnut Creek, California, with home games planned to have been played at the Ultimate Fieldhouse for their first two seasons before moving to Hende ...

. At the high school level, he competed for Trinity International School in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Early life

Nix was born in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

and raised in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

. He played basketball for Mears Middle School in Anchorage. After eighth grade, at age 13, Nix moved to Las Vegas, upon his mother's advice, to gain more basketball exposure and to live closer to his extended family. In high school, Nix played for Trinity International School in Las Vegas. As a junior, Nix averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, leading his team to its second straight National Christian School Athletic Association (NCSAA) Division I title. He finished his junior season as NCSAA Player of the Year and as his team's all-time leader in points, rebounds and assists. On October 15, 2019, as a senior, Nix registered a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

of 45 points, 11 assists and 10 steals in a win over PHH Prep. In March 2020, he shared Grind Session

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

honors with

Jalen Green Jalen Romande Green (born February 9, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a consensus five-star college recruiting, recruit and the best shooting guard ...

. Nix was selected to play in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

, which was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In addition to his high school basketball, Nix competed for independent team Simply Fundamental, which was owned and operated by his high school coach and legal guardian, Greg Lockridge. On August 20, 2019, Nix committed to playing

for

over offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. On November 13, 2019, he signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

with the Bruins. On April 28, 2020, Nix decommitted from UCLA and announced that he would forgo his college eligibility to join the

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2021)

On April 28, 2020, Nix signed a one-year, $300,000 contract with the

, a developmental team affiliated with the

. He explained his decision by saying, "I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing. Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. It's just one step below the NBA." Nix averaged 8.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Houston Rockets / Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2021–2023)

After going undrafted in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

, Nix joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

for the 2021

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

. On August 25, 2021, he signed with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and on October 16, they turned his deal into 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 ...

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

affiliate, the

. On February 15, 2022, the Rockets converted Nix's contract into a standard deal. On June 29, 2023, Nix was waived by the Rockets.

Minnesota Timberwolves / Iowa Wolves (2023–2025)

On September 28, 2023, Nix signed with 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 ...

and on October 20, his deal was converted into a

. On July 11, 2024, Nix signed another two-way contract with the Timberwolves. On January 3, 2025, Nix was waived by Minnesota.

Second stint with Rio Grande Valley (2025–present)

On January 11, 2025, Nix joined the

. On February 8, 2025, Nix signed a 10-day contract with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, but never appeared in a game for the team. He returned to the Vipers following the end of his 10-day contract with the Kings.

Career statistics

NBA

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Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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, 57 , , 7 , , 16.0 , , .342 , , .286 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 15 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .375 , , .353 , , .500 , , .2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 99 , , 7 , , 12.5 , , .356 , , .288 , , .595 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.3

Personal life

Nix's mother, Mina Tupuola, played basketball for Lathrop High School in

and attended the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

References

External links

NBA G League profileUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, Daishen 2002 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Iowa Wolves players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players NBA G League Ignite players Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Basketball players from Anchorage, Alaska Sportspeople from Fairbanks, Alaska Undrafted NBA players