Tyler Paul Zeller (born January 17, 1990) is an American former 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. He played

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 ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

. As a freshman, he played on their 2009 national championship team and as a senior was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. He is the nephew of former NBA player Al Eberhard, and the brother of fellow NBA players

Cody Zeller Cody Allen Zeller (born October 5, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. Zeller was s ...

and Luke Zeller.

Early life

Born in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, Tyler Zeller grew up in

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,017 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan S ...

, attending Washington High School. In his four years at Washington High, his team won four sectional titles, as well as state Class 3A championships in his freshman and senior years (2005 and 2008). In his senior year, he averaged 33.1

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and 11.0

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, and also shot 69% from the field and 82% from the

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

line. In his final high school game, the '08 Class 3A final against Fort Wayne Harding, he scored 47 points, which broke a record for scoring by a player in an Indiana boys' state championship game that had stood since 1970. He was not only a basketball superstar, but also played on Washington High's

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

team for three years, and finished his high school career with a 3.99

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

on a 4.0 scale, good for third in his graduating class. After the 2008 season, he was named "Mr. Basketball" in Indiana, the state's highest honor for high school players. He received the title three years after his brother Luke and three years before his brother Cody were honored with the same award. He was also named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

, as well as a first-team ''Parade'' All-American. During the early stages of the signing period in November 2007, Zeller signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

to play at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. When the university announced his signing, , Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said about Zeller, "I think he is the finest running big man in the country and he has a tremendous shooting touch to go with that ability to run the floor." Zeller notably exhibited that shooting touch at the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival Classic, where he won the event's three-point shooting contest. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Zeller was listed as the No. 7 center and the No. 33 player in the nation in 2008.

College career

Zeller started the first two games of the 2008–09 season in place of the previous season's consensus national Player of the Year,

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well as internationally. In college, Hansbrough was a star with t ...

, who was sidelined with a stress reaction in his right shin. In his first game, he scored 18 points in Carolina's season-opening win over Penn. The Tar Heels' next game, on November 18, was against another equally storied team,

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 ...

. The Heels scored a surprisingly easy 77–58 win over the Wildcats, but suffered another injury blow, this time involving Zeller. With 1:26 left in the game, Zeller went for a breakaway dunk off a turnover, but was fouled by Kentucky's Ramon Harris before he could score. Zeller fell to the floor awkwardly, got up, and was taken to the locker room holding his left wrist.

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s showed that Zeller had broken both of the major bones in his lower left arm (the

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

and

ulna The ulna or ulnar bone (: ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone in the forearm stretching from the elbow to the wrist. It is on the same side of the forearm as the little finger, running parallel to the Radius (bone), radius, the forearm's other long ...

). The day after the injury, he had surgery at UNC Hospitals to repair the broken bones. In early January 2009, Zeller's cast was removed. Zeller made his return during his freshman season on February 18, 2009, in the Tar Heels' home game against North Carolina State, playing 8 minutes and scoring 2 points. As a sophomore, Zeller averaged 9.3 points per game on 52.1% shooting and 4.6 rebounds per game in limited action off the bench. Zeller averaged 15.7 points per game during his junior year. He shot 54.7% and averaged 7.2 rebounds per game. He had a more active role, playing an average of 28.1 minutes per game, significantly more than the 17.4 minutes per game during his sophomore campaign. Zeller averaged 16.5 points per game on 55.3% shooting during his senior season. He also played an average of 28.2 minutes per game. Zeller was voted to the All-ACC First Team his senior year and was named the ACC Player of the Year. Zeller was also named a second team all American by the

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

and the

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

as a senior. Both accolades made him eligible to have his jersey honored in the rafters of the Smith Center at the conclusion of his college career.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2012–2014)

Zeller announced that he was entering the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

along with North Carolina teammates

Harrison Barnes Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes (born May 30, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being sel ...

, Kendall Marshall and John Henson. He was selected by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

with the 17th pick in the draft, and was the fourth Tar Heel to be selected in the first round. He was subsequently traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

on draft night, and signed his rookie scale contract with the Cavaliers on July 5, 2012. On October 11, 2013, Zeller underwent an emergency appendectomy procedure to remove his appendix and was subsequently ruled out indefinitely. He recovered from the surgery in time to face the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

in the team's 2013–14 season opener on October 30. On March 22, 2014, Zeller scored a then career-high 23 points in a 118–111 loss to 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) ...

Boston Celtics (2014–2017)

On July 10, 2014, Zeller was traded to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in a three-team trade that also involved the Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets. On December 5, 2014, he scored a then career-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting in a 113–96 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. He set a new career high on March 16, 2015, against 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 ...

, scoring 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting to help the Celtics defeat the 76ers, 108–89. Zeller started the 2015–16 season as the Celtics' starting center, but moved to the bench after just three games. Over the Celtics' first 25 games of the season, Zeller logged nine DNPs. On December 16, he scored a season-high 12 points in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, hitting 5-of-7 from the field in less than ten minutes. Zeller began to see increased minutes in early February, recording two 16-point games on February 2 against the New York Knicks, and on February 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, both wins. On February 7, he again set a season high, scoring 17 points in a 128–119 win over 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 ...

. On April 8, he tied a career high with 26 points in a 124–109 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 29, 2016, the Celtics tendered a qualifying offer to make Zeller a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

. He went on to re-sign with the Celtics on July 27, 2016. On July 2, 2017, he was waived by the Celtics.

Brooklyn Nets (2017–2018)

On September 12, 2017, Zeller signed a multi-year contract with the

Milwaukee Bucks (2018)

On February 5, 2018, Zeller was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in exchange for Rashad Vaughn and the rights to a future second-round draft pick. On October 13, 2018, he was waived by the Bucks.

Atlanta Hawks (2019)

On March 7, 2019, Zeller signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. He was not retained by the Hawks upon the expiration of the 10-day contract.

Memphis Grizzlies (2019)

On April 5, 2019, Zeller signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

for the remainder of the season.

San Antonio Spurs (2020)

On September 28, 2019, the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

had announced that Zeller had joined for training camp. On October 18, 2019, the Nuggets waived Zeller. On June 24, 2020, the

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

signed Zeller to their roster to complete the 2019–20 season following the restart of league play coming out of 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 ...

. On December 2, Zeller was included in training camp roster with the Spurs, but was later waived by the

on December 19.

Post-playing career

After his NBA career, Zeller and his family moved to

Pittsboro, North Carolina Pittsboro is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census and 4,537 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County. The town was established in the late 18th century, shortly ...

, and he soon began serving as an assistant high school basketball coach at

Northwood High School Northwood High School may refer to: * Northwood High School (Irvine, California) * Northwood High School (Louisiana) * Northwood High School (Maryland) * NorthWood High School, Nappanee, Indiana * Northwood High School (North Carolina), Pittsboro ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 77, , 55 , , 26.4 , , .438 , , .000 , , .764 , , 5.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .9 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 9 , , 15.0 , , .538 , , .000 , , .719 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , .5 , , 5.7 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 82 , , 59 , , 21.1 , , .549 , , – , , .823 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .6 , , 10.2 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 3 , , 11.8 , , .476 , , – , , .815 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.1 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 5 , , 10.3 , , .494 , , .000 , , .564 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.5 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, 42 , , 33 , , 16.7 , , .546 , , .385 , , .667 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .2 , , .5 , , 7.1 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 24 , , 1 , , 16.9 , , .590 , , .000 , , .895 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.9 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .250 , , – , , – , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 414 , , 166 , , 17.5 , , .508 , , .286 , , .764 , , 4.4 , , .9 , , .3 , , .6 , , 6.9

Playoffs

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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, 4 , , 4 , , 22.5 , , .517 , , – , , .800 , , 4.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .467 , , – , , .667 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .7 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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, 11 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .520 , , – , , .750 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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, 7 , , 3 , , 9.4 , , .800 , , – , , .750 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , 7 , , 10.9 , , .527 , , – , , .739 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, 15 , , 2 , , 7.8 , , .472 , , – , , .765 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .521 , , .0 , , .722 , , 4.6 , , .3 , , .5 , , .9 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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, 37 , , 35 , , 28.1 , , .549 , , – , , .759 , , 7.2 , , .6 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 28.2 , , .553 , , – , , .808 , , 9.6 , , .9 , , .9 , , 1.5 , , 16.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 117 , , 75 , , 23.0 , , .543 , , .0 , , .775 , , 6.7 , , .6 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 12.8

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeller, Tyler 1990 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Indiana Boston Celtics players Brooklyn Nets players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks draft picks McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Milwaukee Bucks players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Washington, Indiana Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Visalia, California United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century American sportsmen