Rayjon Tucker


Rayjon Tucker is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and the Little Rock Trojans.

Early life and high school

Tucker grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended Northside Christian Academy. As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks per game and helped lead Knights to the state championship game. Tucker committed to play college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast over offers from Virginia Tech, Boston College, VCU, Clemson, and Auburn.

College career

Tucker began his collegiate career with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. As a freshman, he averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 35 games played, starting one. Tucker averaged 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game as a sophomore. He announced his intention to transfer from the school at the end of the season.
Tucker transferred to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. After sitting out a season due to NCAA transfer rules, he averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was named second team All-Sun Belt Conference. Following the season, Tucker left the program with the intention of joining a higher-level program as a graduate transfer while also declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft. He committed to transfer to Memphis over offers from Auburn, West Virginia, Kansas and Iowa State. However, Tucker ultimately decided not to pull out of the Draft and to pursue professional basketball instead.

Professional career

Wisconsin Herd (2019)

After going unselected in the 2019 NBA Draft, Tucker played for the Milwaukee Bucks NBA Summer League team. After averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in five summer league games, the Bucks signed Tucker to an Exhibit 10 contract on August 16, 2019. Tucker was waived by the Bucks on October 19, 2019 and was subsequently assigned to their NBA G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd. He was considered an excellent teammate who once grabbed water for the players in a game he did not play in. Tucker averaged 23.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.9 steals per game in 33.8 minutes played in 16 games with the Herd before signing an NBA contract with the Jazz. Tucker was named the G League Player of the Month for December and Midseason All-NBA G League for the Eastern Conference.

Utah Jazz (2019–present)

Tucker signed a rest-of-season contract with the Utah Jazz on December 24, 2019 after the Jazz waived Jeff Green. Tucker made his NBA debut on December 30, 2019 against the Detroit Pistons, scoring two points and grabbing a rebound in a 104–81 win. He began to see rotational minutes in January 2020 due to his focus on defense.

Career statistics

College