Tyler Nickel electrified fans in Memorial Gymnasium for two years with his incredible shot-making ability. The forward was undoubtedly one of the best 3-and-D players in college basketball, but now that his NCAA eligibility has run out, Nickel will look to take his talents to the NBA.
Scouts tend to look highly of Nickel as a potential plug-and-play guy at the next level. He is ranked No. 49 onTankathon’s Big Board and No. 50 onESPN’s. The consensus is that he will end up as a late second-round pick or one of the top undrafted free agents. Let’s take a look at what front offices see in Nickel as an NBA prospect.
The profile
There is no doubt about it: The NBA is a make-or-miss league. Since 2003, teams that out-shoot their opponents from deep win70% of the time, and 10 of the last 11 NBA Champions have finished in thetop third in 3-point percentage.
If there’s one thing Nickel can unquestionably do well, it’s shoot the lights out. The Virginia native shot 40% from deep in 2025-26, making 3.5 attempts per game from long distance. At the NBA Draft Combine, his shot continued to flourish as he shot66.9% from the field across all shooting drills, ranking eighth among all prospects at the event.
Nickel has the body of a high-level NBA wing, too, as he measured 6’6 with a 6’8 and ½-inch wingspan at thecombine. At almost 23 years old, Nickel has had time to put on a lot of muscle mass and comes in at a bulky 217.4 pounds.
At this size, Nickel is a solid on-ball defender who can turn up the intensity in big moments. He averaged 0.8 steals per game this past year and locked up some of the best wings in college basketball. Most notably, he held the No. 10-rated prospect, Tennessee’s Nate Ament, to shoot just one of 13 from the field in the SEC TournamentQuarterfinal.
“His defense is great,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said about Nickelafter that game. “He’s known for other things, but he takes great pride in [his ability on] that side of the ball and can really get our team going.”
On offense, Nickel can also find ways to score at all three levels. His cutting ability in the half-court makes him a prime target for getting open looks around the rim, and his jumper is just as lethal from mid-range as it is from deep.
“My biggest weapon is my long range: being a weapon coming off screens, spacing the floor,” Nickel said in a May 27 interview. “I think I can also bring energy, intensity, toughness to any locker room I’m in.”
He rarely turns it over at just 0.7 turnovers per 36 minutes. However, this may come from fear, as many have called Nickel out for his inability to put the ball on the floor. Whether this is a skill-related issue or one related to his confidence is an important question that will impact Nickel’s ceiling in the pros. He has certainly shown proficiency in shooting off the dribble and getting to his spots off the bounce, but in situations where Nickel has to dribble for longer or bring the ball up the floor, he has struggled.
The other biggest criticism of his game is a lack of athleticism. At the combine, Nickel posted the fourth-lowest standing vertical at just 26 inches. However, with a standing reach of over 8’6, Nickel has shown at times that he can dunk the ball with ferocity and reach impressive heights despite his poor jumping ability.
Player comp
Having watched every minute of Nickel’s Vanderbilt career, the player he most reminds me of is Detroit’s Duncan Robinson.
In college, Nickel was the guy who Byington ran set-pieces for, and Robinson has been one of the best “drawing-board” players in the world for years. The Michigan alumnus has averaged 11.5 points per game on 39.9% shooting from deep in eight NBA seasons. His consistent shooting touch has contributed to winning basketball throughout his career, as he has played in 83 playoff games — notably as a key starter on the 2019-20 Miami Heat team that went to the NBA Finals and this year’s Pistons that earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The eye test between Robinson and Nickel is astounding. Robinson clocks in at a similar 6’7, 215-pound build, and both players have incredibly quick triggers on their high release-point shots. Robinson has made a $92.5 million living through catch-and-shoot playmaking and thrives in similar pick-and-pop and wrap-around sets to Nickel.
In his combine interview, Nickel mentioned that Robinson is someone of whose film he watches a lot, bringing further light to the comparison. The other players the sharpshooter mentioned were Sam Hauser, Max Strus and Klay Thompson, which also bring up interesting conversations.
All three are also knock-down shooters and have played championship-level basketball. Hauser is the second-closest comparison in my opinion, as he also clocks in at 6’7, 217 pounds and has many plays designed for him under Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla’s high-flying offense. Hauser, though, relies on his superstar teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to create space for him by drawing double-teams much more than Robinson and Nickel, who get to their spots through individual movement.
Strus plays with a very high motor, not unlike Nickel, but is more of a true shooting guard at 6’5. The Cleveland Cavalier is also an all-world perimeter defender.
Thompson is, of course, one of the greatest shooters of all time. His actual shooting form is incredibly similar to Nickel’s, as both release fast and lean slightly back while doing so. The former “splash bro” reached a level of superstardom and volume shooting that seems unlikely for Nickel unless he lands in the perfect system.
Best fits
All four of these player comparisons have a few more things in common: None of them were top-10 picks, and all have played in the NBA Finals. Other than Thompson, who was selected No. 11 in 2011, the other three actually went undrafted.
Those stories say a lot about Nickel and what he can become in the NBA; winning teams and winning players can find each other later in the draft or even in free agency. Nickel will likely end up on a team that at least made the playoffs last year, especially if he has the chance to choose his destiny and sign an undrafted free agent deal.
Fit-wise, a team that makes a lot of sense is the Orlando Magic. Having made the playoffs for three consecutive years, the Magic have a strong young core of Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and former All-Star Paolo Banchero. A stout defensive team, the Magic’s biggest weakness has been team shooting, as they shot an abysmal 34% from deep in 2025-26 — the third-lowest in the association.
With Orlando’s offense running mainly through feeding Banchero down low, defensive attention is dragged away from the perimeter. The team also has two great pick-and-roll guards in Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. Hence, Nickel would have many opportunities for open looks with this squad, and it seems like a place he could shoot his way into the lineup early in his career.
The Houston Rockets hold the 53rd pick in the draft and are also in dire need of offensive help. While they have an elite one-two punch between Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, Houston’s role players struggled offensively at many points this year. In their six-game playoff series loss to the Lakers, the Rockets scored just 98.7 points per game on 40.9% shooting, going only 30.2% from distance. Head coach Ime Udoka’s squad could greatly benefit from a high-IQ spacer like Nickel, and they are in a prime position to snag him off the leaderboard if they think similarly.
Another very interesting fit for Nickel would be Golden State, which he worked out with on May 27. Led by the greatest shooter ever in former MVP Stephen Curry, the Warriors do not necessarily need more shooting, as they had five players knock down more than 39% of their long-balls this year. However, it is in the team’s identity to keep their offensive firepower going year after year, and there is no doubt that their swing-first perimeter scheme would be heaven-like for Nickel. Golden State has pick No. 54 and would be a very interesting destination for the Vanderbilt forward.
“It would mean a lot to me,” Nickel said about potentially joining the Warriors after his workout with them. “Especially me doing a lot of my work from behind the 3-point line, Given Golden State’s history [with] shooting, that would be amazing for me.”
Other teams to look out for with Nickel are the Heat and Lakers, who are both known for developing later-round talent. The Pelicans have the 58th pick and could also be a landing spot for him, as they seek any offensive help in their rebuild.
Draft projection
It is extremely hard to accurately predict what will happen in the second round of the NBA Draft, since teams are often in scramble mode after Day 1. I have long believed that Nickel will be a very good NBA role player, and I have confidence that front offices will see him similarly. So, I’ll say that he will go atNo. 54 to the Warriors, whose management is always on the lookout for elite shooting talent.
If he falls undrafted, I think the Lakers would be an ideal fit for him to sign with, as they are a big market in need of shooting and can pair Nickel with his former Commodore teammate, Chris Manon.
Nickel’s NBA fate will be sealed June 23-24 at the draft, which takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.