Tyler Dorsey, who is representing the Greek national team, has been one of the most intriguing players competing at the EuroBasket tournament.
Dorsey was selected in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. After playing 104 games in the NBA, he went overseas. Last season was perhaps his best campaign as he won the Greek Basket League championship for Olympiacos, and his team made an appearance in the EuroLeague Final Four.
He was reportedly considering an extension with Olympiacos, and also had interest from the Turkish club Fenerbahce. Dorsey, however, opted to sign a two-way deal with the Mavericks.
During his time at EuroBasket, it seems that may have been a smart idea. Through the first few games of the tournament, per HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa’s global rating, he was one of the best overall performers.
The 26-year-old had 27 points while shooting 5-for-9 on 3-pointers against Croatia on Sept. 2, then followed up with 23 points on 6-of-10 from beyond the arc against Italy the following day.
Tyler Dorsey has 20 points right now for Greece… at halftime… pic.twitter.com/oOAcMWxtD0
— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) September 2, 2022
According to Tim MacMahon, the former Oregon guard believes that he will be able to parlay the two-way with Dallas deal into a standard contract (via ESPN):
“I was talking to some Mavs folks while they were here and there is optimism that he might actually contribute. Like, he might actually carve out some rotation minutes this year. He’s been great when Giannis played … He’s a shooter who can attack closeouts.”
During his conversation with Zach Lowe, MacMahon made similar points as well (via ESPN):
“They think he has something: A shooter who can put the ball on the floor a little bit … They feel like they may have found something here. He’s having a great tournament in EuroBasket for Greece … He thinks he’s an NBA player. The Mavericks agree. So I’d keep an eye out for him for a team that needs one more guard.”
MacMahon is absolutely right about Dorsey’s ability to create off the bounce. Playing for the Greek national team, when including passes, Dorsey has finished more than 40 percent of his possessions as the ball-handler in pick and roll sets.
Dorsey has scored 6.0 points per game on jumpers off the dribble, per Synergy, which ranks as one of the best marks among all participants in the tournament. He is averaging 1.36 points per possession, too, which is near the top of the leaderboard as well.
Even before EuroBasket began, it has been a productive summer for Dorsey, who averaged 1.40 PPP on dribble jumpers during the FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers. That mark trailed just NBA veteran Goran Dragic for the most efficient mark among players who had more than ten such attempts.
Don’t be surprised if Dorsey is able to carve out a role for himself in Dallas.
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