By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
From a memorable run to the championship game of the Final Four 2015 with Wisconsin to the NBA and from there grinding overseas to become a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion with Fenerbahce Beko, Nigel Hayes-Davis is back in the NBA.
After reaching a deal with Fener, the Phoenix Suns are set to officially complete a transfer and secure the services of the 30-year-old American forward for the 2025-26 season. After the move was revealed, Frank Kaminsky explained how the constant efforts of his former Wisconsin teammate led him back to the league based in North America.
“Hardest worker you’ll find out there,” he said, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports, “He’s been one of the best players in Europe the past two years. Deserves the opportunity.”
Kaminsky, 32, played for the Suns between 2019 and 2022. He returned last September but was waived in October, before the start of the 2024-25 Regular Season. Overall, he is a veteran of 430 NBA games, spread across spells with the Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, and Houston Rockets, in addition to the Suns. He also logged 30 EuroLeague appearances with Partizan Mozzart Bet in an overseas journey through the 2023-24 season.
His former teammate in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NCAA seasons with Wisconsin, highlighted by reaching the championship game of the Final Four 2015 in Indianapolis opposite Duke, made his way to nine games of the 2017-18 Regular Season with the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and Toronto Raptors. Expanding his career overseas, he grew into a top player in the premier club continental competition of Europe and went on to become champion as the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four 2025.
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