A member of Kentucky’s “superteam” in the mid-2010s, including Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles had an eventful start to his pro career. Selected in the “lottery” of the 2015 Draft, in 12th position by the Jazz, he began his career in the Great League in anonymity, confined to a rotation role off the bench in Utah.
For The Athletic, Inside recalls the pressure of being a lottery pick and the fear of doing the wrong thing quickly devoured him during his first few months as a pro. ” My first two years, when my confidence was low, I was on the field denying shots, not shooting. I was trying to be a spin player and just move the ball around. I had stretches where my confidence was high and I was playing well. Then as soon as I had a bad game, my confidence took a hit.“
The Canadian also explains that the reality of the NBA, a league in which a high-caliber NCAA player can become a simple “role player” at the top level, was not easy to accept and manage.
” Every kid that’s high in the scouts rankings, going to Kentucky or some other big college, thinks he’s going to come into the league and be the one who gets the keys to the truck. My situation was different, I grew more slowly in the league. At the time, I think I gave it too much importance. If I had started my career with the confidence I have now, I would be in a different situation.“
A fresh start in Detroit
Signed for two years in Detroit, the 26-year-old has made a clean sweep of his past experiences in Utah, Denver and San Antonio and is starting a new chapter in his professional life in Michigan.
First project: mental work. For several months, he has been consulting a therapist. During his younger years, the player tended to overthink his performance or what outside observers thought of his game. Now more mature, in his seventh season in the NBA, he wants to eliminate these bad habits.
” This year has been a turning point from this point of view. I did a lot of work during the off-season on my mind and my state of mind. I am confident and I accept who I am as a player. That’s a big plus. […] Therapy has helped me in different ways. I tend to think too much, to take my head too much. I just want to get out there and exercise my muscle memory. In this, therapy helped me.“
More calm mentally, the player sees his work bear fruit on the floor. In a team that plays without pressure, the former Wildcat has had a great season off the bench: 9.7 points at 55% on shots, 4.8 blocks and 1.2 assists. In a post 5 role which stretches the game to provide space for the backs, the interior enjoys the total confidence of his coach Dwane Casey, who gives him a certain freedom.
” Considering my current situation in my life, being with all these young people and a few veterans, it’s easy to bond with them. […] I can be myself, it helps me a lot he concludes.
| Trey Lyles | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | UTH | 80 | 17 | 43.8 | 38.3 | 69.5 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 71 | 16 | 36.2 | 31.9 | 72.2 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 6.2 |
| 2017-18 | DEN | 73 | 19 | 49.1 | 38.1 | 70.6 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 9.9 |
| 2018-19 | DEN | 64 | 18 | 41.8 | 25.5 | 69.8 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 8.5 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 63 | 20 | 44.6 | 38.7 | 73.3 | 1.1 | 4.6 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 6.4 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 23 | 16 | 47.8 | 35.0 | 65.2 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| 2021-22 | TED | 39 | 19 | 45.0 | 28.6 | 78.3 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 9.6 |
| Total | 413 | 18 | 43.6 | 33.6 | 72.0 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 7.5 | |
