Bryson Tiller: Be Excited, Not Surprised
Stephen Gillaspie breaks down Bryson Tiller in his bounce-back season with Kansas.
The one (and maybe only) thing about sports that sucks the most are injuries. Obviously they can take an athlete out of the game, but they can also derail a player before they really ever get started. We’ve seen how that has impacted a player like Alijah Arenas—who was involved in a car accident over the summer, inevitably delaying his collegiate debut. To a lesser extent, we see it now with Braylon Mullins, who suffered an ankle injury that will delay his debut by about six weeks.
The same thing happened to Kansas Jayhawks big man Bryson Tiller. In 2024, Tiller sustained an injury to his left ankle while competing in the Overtime Elite. That injury ultimately sidelined him. Bryson was once considered a five-star recruit—being ranked as a Top 25 prospect by 24/7 Sports, Rivals, and On 3. ESPN had him ranked at 26. For those who believe in “The DNA”, Bryson’s father, Tony, played in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Hawks.
With the Overtime Elite, Bryson played against a slew of now-NBA talents prior to sustaining his injury. During the 2022-2023 season with OTE, Tiller won the Overtime Elite championship—logging almost 12 PPG and 7 RPG. He followed that up with 12.2 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 1.6 BPG the following season.
Needless to say, prior to injury, Tiller was primed to be a potential freshman phenom last season.
Seeing how well so many of the rookies are performing in their first season in the NBA, it’s easy for us to forget that Bryson could be there. Alas, Tiller redshirted with the Jayhawks last season and set himself up to be an NBA Draft hopeful in a class that could be an all-timer.
But how can Tiller make the league? What’s the skill? What’s the sell? That’s what we’ll dive into today!
Offense
In a game that was dominated by the performance of the potential #1 Pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, there were some subtle moments made by Bryson Tiller that were incredibly encouraging.
Let’s get to the biggest highlight play that Bryson (#15 in blue) was involved in. Here, we see the ball brought up the court, with Tiller initially coming up along the perimeter. As he moves back down to the corner, the ball is brought up by Melvin Council Jr. (#14 in blue), our guy recognizes that the ball is being pressured. Once the ball is kicked to him, Bryson explodes along the baseline with the ball and rises up with a two-handed jam.
The body of work that Bryson has, per our friends at Synergy, is the 2023-2024 season with the City Reapers. At the rim, he ranked in the 68th percentile in at-rim efficiency, and in the 72nd percentile in at-rim frequency. He also has 47 dunks on the season—18 coming within halfcourt sets.
This play in the Louisville exhibition might seem like a throw-away possession, but I love the commitment that Bryson shows to really rolling hard to the basket. He essentially makes himself undeniable to Tre White (#3 in blue)—who felt a beat slow in dishing the ball to our guy.
With the OTE, Bryson was only used in sets like this in 4.7% of his possessions, but he ranked in the 67th percentile when the Reapers ran him in sets that scouts really wanted to see him featured in.
We get another glimpse of it here, with Bryson being used in DHO sets. Plays like this can really leverage his size, handle, and athleticism. Melvin Council Jr. does a great job of utilizing the screen set by Tiller, and gives him a good shot to convert. The timing is off just a smidge, but our guy is athletic enough to guide the ball to the basket.
The last basket for our guy came through this play, where he really had to high-point and relocate the ball. It’s impressive to see the sort of lift he showed (yes, in an exhibition), considering this is his first meaningful run post-injury.
But, as impressive as he showed to be on offense, the defensive side of the floor was where Tiller truly impressed me.
Defense
Scouts who have evaluated Tiller loved him as a potential defensive playmaker of sorts. Again, very early in the process, he looks like he is going to be a difference-maker on that end.
In the exhibition against the Cardinals, Bryson showed off a bit of everything—predicated on his instincts, hustle, and natural tools. Kansas reports that Bryson has a 7’3 wingspan—which he uses well in plays like the one above.
Kobe Rodgers (#11 in white) for Louisville tries to throw over the top of the defense to Isaac McKneely (#10). I don’t know how often Rodgers is used to throwing passes like this, but he wasn’t expecting the length of Bryson being able to disrupt the flow of this flare screen action. It’s not going to be annotated in any statistical category, but Tiller did a fantastic job of forcing the opposition to do better than this effort.
Later on, Louisville tries to throw over the top of Tiller again. Again, our guy does a good job of showing good coordination and timing to intercept the ball. The pass is tipped into the hand of Darryn Peterson, who is able to push break.
Would you believe me if I told you Louisville tried to pass over the top of Tiller again? Well, they did. Rodgers and McKneely work another flare screen, in which Bryson was able to corral, run the break, and finish over the top of Rodgers for an and-one.
With the City Reapers in OTE, Bryson was able to record 52 stocks. He was a bit foul-prone, but this was also two seasons ago. The fact that he has been able to grow into his frame and receive instruction from one of the greatest college coaches of all time bodes well for Tiller and his future.
Tiller being listed at 6’11” and 240 pounds should give a lot of confidence in his versatility and the flexibility he can give his teams. Take a look at this play where Adrian Wooley (#14 in white) is able to explode past his man.
Our guy isn’t going to be a straight-up center, but he gives a lot of utility as a helpside rim protector. As Wooley comes barreling to the rim, Bryson rotates over with high hands—playing vertical. I loved how Tiller was able to get his feet set outside the restricted arc in his recovery. But, he didn’t stop there. Our guy was able to get his hands on the ball and block Wooley from getting a shot off—WITHOUT FOULING; very mature play here.
Here is another example of some rim protection. But, this time, Bryson is going to protect the rim against the 6’11”, 245-pound, Sananda Fru (#13 in white). Fru is the roll man in this two-man action with Wooley. Fru gets the ball from a well-placed bounce pass from Wooley and has some runway to the basket.
Tiller is able to slide from the left side of the defense and, again, gets vertical outside the restricted arc to block a layup. I love how he isn’t afraid to get a little physical in the paint despite having some skill to step outside and defend.
Here we see Bryson lined against consensus Top 5 prospect, Mikel Brown Jr. Like most guards, Mikel is feeling like this is a favorable matchup against a bigger player on the three-point line. Tiller does a great job of staying in front of Brown Jr. and forces a mis-dribble and the turnover.
We’ll see another example of Tiller’s footwork and positioning making life difficult for a Louisville ball handler. Tiller’s man gets the ball in the paint off of an entry pass, and dribbles out to the left corner. The ball finds its way into the hands of Wooley again, who opts to drive into the paint. Bryson slides with his man—escorting him to the help defense rotating over. Wooley tries to slip a pass to Fru, but the arms of the Jayhawk defense engulf the ball for a turnover.
The last clip that we’ll look at here is Bryson doing some more perimeter defense, but in an action that he’ll likely see moving forward.
Rodgers gets the ball on the left wing and is defended by Peterson. The ball is moved to our guy’s man, J’Vonne Hadley (#1 in white). Hadley faces up and then dribbles back to the top of the key. Hadley gets into a handoff action with Ryan Conwell (#3 in white). Likely knowing the scouting report, Tiller understands the ball is going into the hands of a shooter. Instead of staying with his man, Bryson steps up toward Conwell and contests the pull-up three-pointer. Tiller’s reach clearly bothers Conwell’s shot, which bounces off the back left part of the rim.
Curtains
Bryson Tiller having such a strong outing (yes, it’s preseason) against a Top 12 team is encouraging. It’s not everything, but for those who have liked him and how he projects, it’s a solid data point.
In 2022, I wrote about my first time watching Tiller, and I was just amazed at how strong he looked as a young player. In this piece from about three years ago, I wrote:
“He is so strong, plays very good defense, and carries himself as a professional at such a young age. Remember the name.”
In a piece that featured OTE notes almost a year later, I wrote:
“Despite the shot being off, he did many things well away from the ball, such as crashing the glass, playing hard defense, and handing out four assists. His improved vision and his growing skillset have me intrigued, he just needs to show some more consistency on the jumper.”
Here we are about two years later, and my intrigue in the game of Bryson Tiller has been reignited. He has a case to be the best “A-to-B” prospect in the class. In other words, Tiller could be the best riser in a class that features a ton of talent.
Should we see that happen, we should all be excited. Not surprised!
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