In 2014, Tyler Ennis left Syracuse basketball to join the NBA. We take a look at his journey and where he is playing right now.
Tyler Ennis has only been off the Hill for a few years, but his journey has taken him many places. To begin, let’s look back at his time playing for Syracuse basketball.
In 2013, Ennis committed to play for ‘Cuse as a guard from Ontario. In his lone season donning the Orange, his squad had success finishing number 14 in the AP polls.
However, the team did stumble and lost in the round of 32 after posting a regular-season record of 28-6. Tyler Ennis was second on the team in points with 13 a game just behind C.J. Fair. Ennis did lead the team with five and a half assists playing nearly 35 minutes a game.
Following a solid collegiate season, Ennis was selected 18th overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.
Despite being chosen in the first round, his career never really got off the ground. He quickly departed the Suns, which was just the first trade of three in his career. After bouncing around the league to four teams, Ennis momentarily called it quits in the NBA. At this point, through four seasons, Ennis averaged around four points and two assists in 13 minutes of action per contest.
In 2018, Ennis decided to make the leap to play in the EuroLeague for Fenerbahce. However, just five games into the season, he suffered a gruesome leg injury and never suited up in Europe again, per syracuse.com. From then the recovery efforts began, but his career was not over.
Fast forward to this year; everything seemingly came full-circle for Tyler Ennis. He was signed by the Raptors G League affiliate, Raptors 905, where he’d return home to play in Mississauga, Ontario, alongside former Orange star, Oshae Brissett. Arguably Ennis is in his best season of professional basketball.
Stats through 35 games, per Basketball-Reference:
- 33.9 minutes per game
- 17.1 points per game
- 7.1 assists per game
- 5.1 rebounds per game
- 1.7 steals per game
The Raptors 905 are 15-20 on the season and are on the outside looking into the playoff picture. Ennis is a model that the path to the NBA isn’t easy — starting from being a first-round pick to now being in the G League following an injury. For anyone wanting to follow Ennis’s career, the Raptors 905 next game is this Wednesday night at 7:30 against the Westchester Knicks.