Rayjon Tucker

Rayjon Tucker (born September 24, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and the Little Rock Trojans.

Rayjon Tucker
Tucker with Wisconsin Herd
No. 6 – Utah Jazz
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-09-24) September 24, 1997
Charlotte, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorthside Christian Academy
(Charlotte, North Carolina)
College
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Wisconsin Herd
2019–presentUtah Jazz
2020→Salt Lake City Stars
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school

Tucker grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended Northside Christian Academy. As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks per game and helped lead Knights to the state championship game.[1] Tucker committed to play college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast over offers from Virginia Tech, Boston College, VCU, Clemson, and Auburn.[2]

College career

Tucker began his collegiate career with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. As a freshman, he averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 35 games played, starting one. Tucker averaged 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.[3] He announced his intention to transfer from the school at the end of the season.[4]

Tucker transferred to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. After sitting out a season due to NCAA transfer rules, he averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was named second team All-Sun Belt Conference.[5] Following the season, Tucker left the program with the intention of joining a higher-level program as a graduate transfer while also declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft.[6][7] He committed to transfer to Memphis over offers from Auburn, West Virginia, Kansas and Iowa State.[8] However, Tucker ultimately decided not to pull out of the Draft and to pursue professional basketball instead.[9]

Professional career

Wisconsin Herd (2019)

After going unselected in the 2019 NBA Draft, Tucker played for the Milwaukee Bucks NBA Summer League team.[10] After averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in five summer league games, the Bucks signed Tucker to an Exhibit 10 contract on August 16, 2019.[11] Tucker was waived by the Bucks on October 19, 2019 and was subsequently assigned to their NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.[12][13] He was considered an excellent teammate who once grabbed water for the players in a game he did not play in.[14] Tucker averaged 23.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.9 steals per game in 33.8 minutes played in 16 games with the Herd before signing an NBA contract with the Jazz.[15] Tucker was named the G League Player of the Month for December and Midseason All-NBA G League for the Eastern Conference.[16][17]

Utah Jazz (2019–present)

Tucker signed a rest-of-season contract with the Utah Jazz on December 24, 2019 after the Jazz waived Jeff Green.[18][19] Tucker made his NBA debut on December 30, 2019 against the Detroit Pistons, scoring two points and grabbing a rebound in a 104–81 win.[20] He began to see rotational minutes in January 2020 due to his focus on defense.[21]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Florida Gulf Coast 35118.5.545.359.7143.0.8.6.26.2
2016–17 Florida Gulf Coast 33618.8.509.453.7533.91.0.4.37.7
2018–19 Little Rock 303036.6.491.411.7776.71.81.1.420.3
Career 983724.2.505.414.7564.11.2.7.311.0

References
  1. Caldwell, Dana (January 6, 2016). "Eagles' Tucker starting to take flight". Naples Daily News. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. "2015 SF Rayjon Tucker Commits To FGCU". NestBackUp.Blogspot.com/. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  3. Caldwell, Dana (June 19, 2017). "Tucker's loss makes three transferring from FGCU". Naples Daily News. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. Phillips, Scott (June 17, 2017). "High-flying guard Rayjon Tucker to transfer from Florida Gulf Coast". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  5. Borzello, Jeff (March 19, 2019). "Little Rock's Tucker to be coveted as transfer". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  6. Chasen, Scott (May 5, 2019). "Report: Rayjon Tucker zeroing in on transfer decision". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  7. Daniels, Evan (April 15, 2019). "Rayjon Tucker declares for Draft, sets visits to Auburn, Memphis". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  8. West, Jenna (May 12, 2019). "Top Grad Transfer Rayjon Tucker Commits to Memphis, Leaves Name in NBA Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. Hines, Travis. "Rayjon Tucker to stay in NBA draft weeks after committing to Memphis". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  10. Cobb, David (July 5, 2019). "Former Memphis Tigers commit Rayjon Tucker not looking back as NBA summer league begins". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  11. Velazquez, Matt (August 16, 2019). "The Milwaukee Bucks add Rayjon Tucker, Jaylen Adams to fill training-camp roster". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  12. Hill, Arthur (October 19, 2019). "Bucks Waive Tucker, Lacey, Jones". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  13. Treske, Jordan (October 26, 2019). "Wisconsin Herd add through the G League Draft ahead of 2019-20 season". BehindTheBuckPass.com. FanSided. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  14. Jerell, Rushin (January 23, 2020). "Rayjon Tucker was the ideal teammate with the Wisconsin Herd before getting NBA contract". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  15. Lowman, Mychal (December 23, 2019). "Utah Jazz sign Rayjon Tucker from G-League Wisconsin Herd". SLCDunk.com. SB Nation. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  16. Ireland, Kyle (January 2, 2020). "Jazz Guard Rayjon Tucker Named G-League Player Of Month For December". KSLSports.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  17. Treske, Jordan (February 11, 2020). "Bucks G League: Wisconsin Herd headline midseason All-NBA G League teams". BehindTheBuckPass.com. FanSided. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  18. Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Jazz to sign guard Rayjon Tucker, cut Jeff Green, sources say". ESPN.com.
  19. "Utah Jazz sign Rayjon Tucker". NBA.com. December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  20. Taylor, Cody (December 31, 2019). "Rayjon Tucker scored his first career bucket in the NBA with the Jazz". The Rookie Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  21. Larsen, Andy (January 11, 2020). "Rayjon Tucker getting meaningful minutes for Jazz, thanks to his defensive focus". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
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