LOS ANGELES – The 2025-26 G League season officially tipped-off this week, and the South Bay Lakers, affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, came away with a 144-105 opening-night win against the Valley Suns. While it was just the first game of the season for South Bay, the prevailing thought following the win was that Drew Timme is in line for an NBA call up at some point this year.
The former Brooklyn Nets big man dropped a game-high 34 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and even played some point guard, initiating the offense and dishing out six assists. South Bay head coach Zach Guthrie often played Drew Timme at power forward, using him as a stretch-four and entrusting him to handle the ball.
But one aspect of Timme’s game that really stood out was his three-point shooting. Timme was only 1-of-4 from distance, but he displayed confidence in taking that shot. Following the game, he acknowledged that it’s been a work in progress for quite some time now.
“It’s been a process. I’ve been working on it for like the past five years. I’ve changed my shot twice, made some tweaks to it, and I’ve got to a spot where I feel really good about it. There’s a lot of guys who have helped me, my high school coach, Coach [Marc] Johnson, he’s helped me a ton,” Timme said. “This past summer, the past three summers, just continuing to rep it out, just continuing to build on it. It feels great. I think it looks a lot better than it has since two years ago, so just continuing to build on that.”
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft, Drew Timme began his professional career with the Wisconsin Herd, the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. His time with the Herd was cut short though due to a season-ending injury. Timme resurfaced last season with the Stockton Kings, and was ultimately traded to the Long Island Nets.
Timme’s play with Long Island caught the attention of the parent club, and he inked a multi-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets in late March. In his first career NBA game, Timme dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds against the LA Clippers.
Overall, Timme appeared in nine games with the Nets, including two starts, at a little over 28 minutes per game. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 44.1 percent from the field. But amid a roster logjam, Timme was one of the Nets’ final roster cuts before the start of this season.
While his early play suggests that he might not be long for the G League, Timme is enjoying his time with South Bay and the freedom he has in Guthrie’s offense, especially the chance to show off his playmaking game.
“It’s definitely something I’ve been working on, but it’s also the trust he [Guthrie] has in me. And when you get trust from the boss, it gives you the confidence to do more,” Timme said. “I’ve always thought I’ve been a pretty good passer, but being able to really play point guard and be in different actions and create in that way, which is very different from out of the post, he’s giving me that trust. And I’ve earned it, and I got to continue to earn it. It’s been great, it’s a lot of fun.”
