Former Kentucky Wildcats All-American Tyler Ulis is back on the comeback trail after making his first appearance in almost two months, scoring 11 points in 12 minutes of action on Monday night for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G-League.
Playing in only his seventh game this season, Ulis was 3-for-10 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line to go with five assists. Due to injuries, his last appearance was on December 19th as the 5-foot-9 point guard has started six games for Stockton this season, averaging 6.9 points per contest.
When he’s not been on the court, Ulis has been giving back to the community through The Tyler Ulis Foundation, which you can read more about here.
Ulis was the 34th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and played two seasons for the Phoenix Suns during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. During that times, Ulis played in 132 games, averaging 20.9 minutes and making 58 starts. He averaged 7.5 points per game.
However, injuries have hampered Ulis in the pro ranks as he was waived by the Suns on June 30, 2018. He was quickly signed and released by the Golden State Warriors before landing briefly with his hometown Chicago Bulls on a two-way contract with the Windy City Bulls of the G League. In December of 2018, Ulis underwent hip surgery and was waived by the Bulls later that same month before finding a place on the Stockton roster for the 2019-20 season.
A fan favorite at Kentucky, Ulis became just the second player to earn SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season (2015-2016) after another Wildcat, Anthony Davis, achieved the same feat in 2011-12.
Ulis, now just 24 years old, still has plenty of time to get healthy and earn another shot with an NBA team. That opportunity could come with Stockton’s parent club, the Sacramento Kings, who are 21-32 on the season. Former UK standout De’Aaron Fox is currently averaging 19.8 points per game for the Kings this season.