Rising Star Daishen Nix of the Timberwolves Hungry for More NBA Action

Back when the NBA first created the G League Ignite, the prevailing thought was to give young basketball players an opportunity to earn money while getting a jump start on their professional basketball careers. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Daishen Nix was among the first group of Ignite players.

One of the top point guard prospects in the nation when he was in high school, Nix was originally going to play college basketball at UCLA. He ultimately chose to bypass the NCAA and become a pro.

College basketball players were not allowed to earn financial compensation as they are now due to the introduction of Name, Image, Likeness, or NIL. Over All-Star Weekend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted that the league is evaluating the Ignite in terms of its long-term viability in the wake of the NIL boom.

For Daishen Nix though, the Ignite was a good learning experience that ultimately got him to his goal of playing in the NBA.

“I think it helped me a lot just by learning NBA terminology,” Nix told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t have to go college and with COVID that year, it was bad in a way for college. But I learned a lot, and now in the NBA there’s a lot of guys that I played against and that coached me.”

Daishen Nix is in his first season with the Timberwolves. He went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft and was signed by the Houston Rockets to a two-way contract. After his rookie season, the Rockets converted his deal into a standard contract.

Nix appeared in 81 games over the course of two seasons with the Rockets but got caught in a numbers crunch this past offseason. The Rockets cut him and it wasn’t until training camp began that he was signed by the Timberwolves. It was originally an Exhibit 10 training camp deal, but the Wolves saw enough of him to convert the deal to a two-way contract and keep him on the regular season roster.

While Nix’s time with the Rockets was a bit inconsistent, he was able to take away a few things to help him as he continues his NBA career.

“It was basically just learning how to wait my time, especially with the seasons that we had in Houston,” Nix said. “It was just staying patient, that was the main thing, staying patient throughout the whole season.”

Nix’s second season with the Rockets during 2022-23 was when he began showing flashes on the court. He may not have had a good shooting season efficiency-wise, but he did manage to put 4.1 points per game, and 2.3 assists over the course of 57 games including seven starts. His best game of the year came against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets when he dropped 14 points and five assists in 25 minutes.

Much of Nix’s potential future in the NBA hinges on his ability to be a lead guard. His shooting numbers certainly need to improve, but he’s shown at times, especially while playing in the G League, that he could be capable of quarterbacking an offense. He averaged 5.3 assists during his season with the Ignite and 7.7 assists as a rookie being assigned to the Rocket’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

What’s also helped him learn about being an NBA point guard is the time he spent with several key veterans with the Rockets and now with the Timberwolves.

“It’s been good, especially being Houston my first year, learning from KPJ [Kevin Porter Jr.] who was there at the time. Dennis Schroder was there, I learned from him a lot. John Wall, the first year I was there I learned from him a lot, he was always talking to me,” Nix said. “Now being here in Minnesota, I got Mike Conley, I got Monte Morris, I can learn a lot from them.”

Although Daishen Nix is on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves, he’s spent most of the year with the big club. He’s only played in six games for the team’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, and put up 19.7 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists.

But going back to his days with the Ignite, Nix has a total of 39 games of G League experience. The league has grown in size to the point where by next season, every NBA team will have an affiliate. The G League has become a good way for young NBA players to get live game reps rather than just sitting on the bench. With his experience, Nix sees the G League as being close to on par with the NBA.

“The G League, I think it’s just like the NBA. People actually play harder because they’re trying to get that contract,” Nix said. “Players playing harder and people have the same skill sets, everyone’s playing hard.”

Daishen Nix has only appeared in ten games this season with the Timberwolves, but there have been some encouraging signs. His shooting percentages, albeit on a small sample size, have been up, He’s shot 42.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from the three-point line.

The Wolves are a veteran-heavy team though with a real shot at making a strong playoff run. Even with the recent injury to Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves are hanging on to their top spot in the Western Conference standings. As the regular season winds down, Nix has a firm plan in mind as to what he wants out of this year.

“Playing time, that’s the main thing I want this season,” Nix said, “Just continuing to get NBA reps like how I used to and just keep growing.”