Former Gonzaga standout Drew Timme has played in NBA Summer League games, NBA preseason games and a lot of NBA G League games.
His next action should finally come in an NBA game.
Less than a week after scoring 50 points on 21-of-26 shooting from the field for G League Long Island, Timme has signed a multiyear contract with the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA team announced Friday. Terms were not announced, but it’s believed to be a two-year deal, according to NBA insider Michael Scotto, who was first to report Timme’s promotion.
The Nets (23-50) entertained the Los Angeles Clippers at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Barclays Center. Timme became the 12th Zag to play in an NBA game this season.
Timme, named the G League Player of the Week Tuesday, averaged 23.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 29 games with Brooklyn’s G League squad. He made 57% from the field, including 38.5% on 3-pointers and 73.1% at the free-throw line.
Timme, 24, is the only player in the G League this season to average a double-double.
The 6-foot-10, 235-pound forward began the season with Stockton, Sacramento’s G League franchise, after playing for the Kings in Summer League. Long Island acquired Timme in a three-team trade in late December.
Timme is Gonzaga’s all-time leading men’s scorer with 2,307 points. The Richardson, Texas, native twice earned second-team All-America honors and was first-team in his senior season when he averaged a career-high 21.2 points. He was twice named West Coast Conference Player of the Year.
Timme signed with the Milwaukee Bucks after he wasn’t selected in the 2023 NBA draft.
He played in four Summer League and two preseason games with the Bucks before joining the G League Wisconsin Herd.
He averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 boards in 29 games with the Herd. His rookie season ended two months early with a fractured foot.
Timme returned to play with Sacramento in the Summer League last summer before spending a second season in the G League with Stockton and Long Island.
“It’s been going really well,” Timme told The Spokesman-Review a few weeks ago after a Long Island game in his home state of Texas. “I think I’m getting really close to my ultimate dream (of reaching the NBA), just got to keep working. The system’s been good, the staff’s been good.
“I’m feeling really good about myself. I’ve got to keep it up.”
Timme will have a Gonzaga connection with the Nets. Former GU walk-on Connor Griffin is an assistant coach on Jordi Fernandez’s staff.
Anton Watson, Timme’s former GU teammate and close friend, is also nearby after making his NBA debut about three weeks ago with the New York Knicks. The Knicks and Nets close the regular season on April 13 in Brooklyn. Timme and Watson played against each other when Watson was on the Knicks’ and Boston’s G League teams.
Brooklyn has nine regular-season games left, including a road game Monday against Dallas. The Nets, who listed six players out on Friday’s status report, and Philadelphia share 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and both will miss the playoffs.
