Isaac Humphries has signed a ten-day contract with the Atlanta Hawks and will play the remaining seven games of the NBA season.
The Sydney born big man has been playing for the the Hawks’ G-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, this season and much like the Brooklyn Nets chose to reward Mitch Creek earlier in the year and the LA Lakers chose to reward former Perth Wildcats import Andre Ingram last week, another NBL product will be rewarded with his first taste of NBA action as a result of recent G-League play.
Humphries has played 46 games for the BayHawks, starting in 34 of those games and averaging 11 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, while shooting an impressive 54% from the field and 34% from downtown.
The 21-year-old who spent last season with the Sydney Kings will suit up for his first game when the Hawks face the San Antonio Spurs on April 3rd. When Humphries steps onto the court he will become the thirteenth Australian to log NBA minutes this season.
Humphries won the NBL rookie of the year award in 2017-18 after averaging 7 points and 4 rebounds for the Sydney Kings. He shot only attempted one three-point field goal during his time in the NBL so to see his perimeter goal improve to making 29 of 85 in the G-League this year is no doubt part of the reason NBA coaches are noticing the play of Humphries right now.
Humphries nominated for the NBA draft in 2017 but went undrafted. He had spent two seasons playing for the University of Kentucky under hall of fame coach John Calipari.
It’s been a big year for Humphries who also made his senior debut for the Australian national team in Feburary in a FIBA World Cup qualifying match against Kazakhstan, where he recorded 17 points and 7 rebounds in a dominant performance.
And on another note, Humphries, who is a talented musician, released a cover of the song “Say Something” by A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera earlier this month which has gained more than 6,882 and is definitely worth checking out.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
