The position Bones Hyland is in right now isn’t anything new for him.
He’s in his fifth season in the NBA and already on his third team. Hyland averaged 19 minutes per game in his rookie year with the Denver Nuggets. However, since then, he’s bounced around, and his role has been decreasing. In 2023, with the Los Angeles Clippers, he averaged 14.6 minutes over 37 games. In 2024, he averaged ten minutes per game over 24 games, 20 with the Clippers and four with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who signed him to a two-way contract in February.
For a player who was a first-round draft pick and made the All-Rookie Second team, Hyland is more understanding of what it is like to be a journeyman in the NBA than most players who had a similar situation as him in their rookie year.
“The biggest thing is just staying ready [for] whenever you get thrown out there,” said Hyland after logging 18 points in 36 minutes in a 117-103 win over the Sacramento Kings last week. “You’ve got to be ready to perform for the team and stay warm on the bench. Stay engaged. I feel like that is definitely a thing that you have to do.”
Injuries to Minnesota’s backcourt have presented Hyland with another opportunity. He stayed ready for it, and one year after his career was on a downswing, where he saw frequent DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) and garbage-time minutes, Hyland suddenly became a key piece of this Wolves team.
“Just trying to be aggressive,” said Hyland. “Coach has told me, ‘If you see them in a drop or see them switched, just go downhill, get aggressive.’ … When you’ve got a coach like that, giving you that [constantly], talking to you on each play or every time you come down the floor, telling you to be aggressive, it’s big.”
Hyland has never lacked confidence. He’s a fearless scorer. Anthony Edwards calls him a star, even though he’s not sure of the criteria for being a star.
Stars tend to operate best under a free-flowing offensive scheme that isn’t made up of set plays, which Chris Finch has used in Minnesota. Sometimes, that scheme can cause poor offensive performance and a lack of direction during games. However, it can empower players like Hyland, who thrive with the ball in their hands, and can sub into games and find their groove by being aggressive.
Objectively, Hyland isn’t a star yet. But he has All-Star-level scoring chops, which, combined with his unbridled confidence, is exactly what the Wolves have needed.
Minnesota averages the fifth-fewest bench points this season. Aside from Naz Reid, who is averaging 14 points, the Wolves haven’t had any reliable scoring off the bench. Finch has used Rob Dillingham in the rotation for most of the year. However, on December 8 against the Phoenix Suns, Finch replaced Dillingham with Hyland in the rotation. The Wolves lost that game 108-105, but Hyland played great. He recorded 16 points and three assists on 5 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 6 from deep.
Hyland played so well that when a right-foot injury forced Edwards to miss the following game against the Golden State Warriors on December 12, Finch promoted Bones to the starting lineup. Less than five minutes into the game, however, Hyland left and was later ruled out due to a right knee contusion.
While Ant might think Hyland is a star, he’s still trying to prove he deserves a consistent role in the NBA. Before this season, Hyland had only started in 11 NBA games. His truncated stint against the Warriors was a temporary loss of momentum, but for a player who is always ready for the moment, it didn’t last long.
Hyland was in the starting lineup again, playing 36 minutes in a 117-103 win over the Sacramento Kings on December 14. He scored a season-high 18 points and dished out five assists on 6 of 10 from the floor and 1 of 4 from deep.
Hyland’s shooting big reason why Finch has given him a bigger role recently. Bones is connecting on 38% of his three-pointers this season, providing the Wolves with some on and off-ball shooting that they’ve missed without Nickiel Alexander-Walker. Hyland’s three-point shooting has been on a steady rise throughout his NBA career, which complements his confident isolation scoring.
Scoring is what Hyland is best known for. But he doesn’t feel he gets enough credit for his passing, which has made him an even greater threat this year.
“I feel like I am very versatile,” Hyland said regarding his passing and scoring. “It can go either way. It’s really whatever we need. If it’s me scoring, me passing. I feel like I am a very underrated passer, as well. I don’t get a lot of credit for that. But that’s cool as long as I believe, as long as [the] coaches believe in my abilities.”
For a journeyman guard whose NBA playing time has been limited, Hyland has a strong understanding of how to produce high-quality offense and when to look to score or pass.
The ball doesn’t get sticky when it’s in Hyland’s hands. He plays fast and always keeps an eye on his teammates, which makes him a reliable pick-and-roll ball-handler — a true point guard who understands how to play the position and can score in bunches. The Wolves have needed a player like that this season.
On Sunday, Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing four games with right Achilles tendinopathy. Hyland averaged 29 minutes with Conley injured. He split the point guard duties with Dillingham, who averaged 13 minutes. But in Minnesota’s 103-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, Finch bumped Dillingham out of the rotation, and Hyland played 19 minutes off the bench.
After an abysmal first half offensively, Minnesota outscored Milwaukee 55-40 in the second half. Hyland played 9:37 minutes in the second half, recording seven points, two assists, and one steal on 3 of 4 from the floor.
Hyland wasn’t quite the same spark-plug that he was in Friday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he recorded 13 points on 4 of 6 from deep. Still, Hyland was a positive factor against the Bucks, continuing to be a vital piece to Minnesota’s bench offense, and forcing Finch to play him over the Wolves’ recent lottery pick.
One year ago, Hyland’s minutes with the Clippers were sporadic and rarely meaningful. His career, which began as a successful first-round draft pick in Denver, was on a downswing, but Hyland always stayed ready for his next opportunity. When that opportunity recently came by way of injuries, Hyland has maximized it to the point where Ant is calling him a star, and he is a crucial piece off Minnesota’s bench.
