Former Clemson Tigers Star Hunter Tyson Traded at NBA Deadline

Clemson basketball might not have many alumni in the league currently, but one will be playing in a new destination for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Denver Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson was traded to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday afternoon, an hour before the NBA trade deadline shut down on Feb. 5. He was traded with a second-round pick from Denver to the lesser favorable second-round pick between the Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta Hawks in 2026.

ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the news. The decision was made for Denver due to avoiding the luxury tax.

The Denver Nuggets are trading Hunter Tyson and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the lesser favorable of a Clippers/Hawks 2026 second, sources tell ESPN. Denver creates an open roster spot for the buyout market and gets out of the luxury tax.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2026

The former Clemson standout spent two-and-a-half seasons in Denver to begin his career. This season, he averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in 21 games this season. He saw two starts over the 2025-26 campaign thus far and had two performances of 10 points or more in January.

Tyson was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, originally going to the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded on draft night to Denver, who was the reigning champion at that time.

The Monroe, North Carolina, native was a five-year player under head coach Brad Brownell, erupting during the 2022-23 season to be recognized as a NBA draft pick during that offseason. He averaged 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds a contest to be a First Team All-ACC selection at the end of the year.

In that year, he became the 44th Tiger to score more than 1,000 points across his time with the program. He also recorded 16 double-doubles in 2022-23, being the eighth-most in Clemson history and the first since Sharone Wright in the 1993-94 season.

He improved with every season, making more and more noise for the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum over his five season. He currently holds the program record for most games played in a Clemson jersey with 136, being etched in history already at the collegiate level.

Tyson will join a young Brooklyn core in the Big Apple, looking to make a name for himself in a new location to be a solid role player in the NBA in seasons to come. He will join players like Egor Demin, Danny Wolf and Noah Clowney on a team that will look to prove their worth in seasons to come.

The Nets get a player with multiple years under his belt, in both the G-League and in the pros, that will bring that Clemson grit to his next location.