LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Brooklyn Nets have a potential new star in the making in former Gonzaga Bulldog legend Drew Timme, stemming from a strong debut in late march to now a blazing summer league performance.
“I can hoop, it’s just funny to say,” Timme said. “I work hard, and trying to get better every day.”
He was a force of nature in his four years with the Zags, wrecking his way to winning WCC Player of the Year twice, but he wasn’t drafted.
Timme would float around three G-League teams over two years, leaving many question if he belongs in the NBA, until now.
“It’s huge when guys like that believe in you and it just makes it all that much easier to just do what I’ve been doing, I guess,” Timme said.
Doubters quickly quieted now after a stream of standout performances leading the Nets in Las Vegas, flying around the floor for a league-high 26 points per game in the NBA Summer League.
“For them to have trust in everything,” Timme said. “I think it’s helped me do what I’ve been able to do so far.”
The basketball world took notice, from Kendrick Perkins’ tweet of support, to Nets 2025 first-round rookie Egor Demin praising his game as “annoyingly good”.
“I’m probably not anybody’s first choice when I pull up to the park, if nobody knows who I was, and then it’s like ‘who is this dude’,” Timmie said. “So, I’ve gotten that my whole life. I guess I’m kinda like a ninja or something, in the shadows, I guess.”
He spoke about his mental state too, and how he went from… “I was nervous as crap out there,” after his debut, to a calmer approach as he grows into the flow of NBA pace, according to both him and Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez.
“At least for me, when I’m just playin’ and not really thinking, I’m just going with the flow instead of overthinking, it makes the world of difference, especially for me,” Timme said. “So, it’s definitely slowed down a bit, which has been good.”
“Very impressed with him, very happy for him,” coach Fernandez said. “Because he deserves it.”
As the summer league nears its end this weekend, Timme’s biggest goal remains locked in his head.
“First part of the dream is to make it, get your foot in the door, second part is to stay and to thrive,” Timme said. “I want it bad, as does everybody. It’s also fun to have to compete, and really, really claw to get what you want. So that’s the goal, obviously, is to keep going and get better and better.”
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