Anchorage’s Daishen Nix throws it down during the NBA Summer League. Photo courtesy of Timberwolves’ Twitter
Daishen Nix cashed in on basketball’s version of the Hail Mary at the NBA Summer League in Vegas.
The Anchorage fifth-year point guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a 65-foot pass to teammate Josh Minott for a layup to beat the buzzer at the end of the first half in Friday’s 81-74 win over New Orleans.
Nix didn’t have much daylight to make something happen on an inbounds play deep in his own territory, a couple strides from the coffin corner.
With vision and precision, Nix made a superb soccer-style overhand heave that skipped two defenders and landed in the hands of Minott for the easy two.
Nix is best known for his world-class assist game and showed it by dropping a dime you had to see to appreciate because not only was the pass right on the money, but the 6-foot-3 guard had to get it off over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-10 Karlo Matković.
unreal pass from Daishen Nix to Josh Minott on the inbounds play pic.twitter.com/dr2Tz5sYOM
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 12, 2024
Nix, 22, was terrific all day.
He started and played 27 minutes, bagging 14 points, one 3-pointer, four rebounds, five assists, three steals and one blocked shot. He also had a breakaway dunk and was +17 on a night when his team won by seven.
Nix played in 15 NBA games last season for the T-Wolves and has logged 96 in his career, putting him on the doorstep of becoming the first undrafted Alaskan and sixth overall to reach the 100-game benchmark. Look for Nix to reach the century mark in the upcoming season after Minnesota signed him to a two-way contract, which means he will bounce back and forth between the NBA and the G League like he did last season.
Cracking an NBA roster is incredibly difficult and breaking through the rotation is even harder and nobody exemplifies that gap better than Nix, who has looked human in the NBA (3.4 ppg, 1.9 apg) and superhuman in the G League (17.1 ppg, 6.1 apg).
Nix turned pro straight out of high school in 2020 and cut his teeth against the world’s best players to sharpen the edges of his game.
Daishen Nix on BOTH ends! 💪
He gets the steal and throws it down on the other end. @Timberwolves #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/ZcLKOUhyHa
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) July 12, 2024
This T-Wolves’ Summer League roster features another Alaskan in Kok Yat of Anchorage, but he didn’t play Friday.
The 6-foot-8 forward spent last season with Minnesota’s G League team in Iowa after playing in the OTE the two previous years.
The team’s next Summer League game is Sunday.
