Nigel Hayes-Davis opens up about his travels, language tricks, and unusual Team USA advice
Nigel Hayes-Davis shared fun stories and tricks from his numerous travels, from impersonating a geologist to surprising people and dealing with being an American. He shared the unusual advice he sought while being part of Team USA and promised more to come.Three years ago, Nigel Hayes-Davis averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 4 PIR in the EuroLeague. This past summer, he played on the same team with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.It was a long and exhausting journey to get to that point in his professional basketball career.
Back in the NCAA, Nigel made his name known globally with his viral videos online. He was the star of his Wisconsin team, but his basketball career wasn’t as flashy in the beginning.
Galatasaray Istanbul took a chance on him after unsuccessful attempts to prove himself in the NBA. A two-year stint with Zalgiris Kaunas followed, which resulted in head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius taking Hayes-Davis alongside him to FC Barcelona.
His big chance came when he arrived in Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in 2022. Then-head coach Dimitris Itoudis gave Hayes-Davis plenty of playing time, which the forward took advantage of.
Nigel continued to grow throughout the past two years. Now he’s one of the best players in the EuroLeague. As such, he received a call to be part of Team USA Select this offseason and help Team USA prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“The greatest summer of my entire life!” Hayes-Davis told BasketNews.
Hayes-Davis had the chance to wear the Team USA gear during friendly games before the Olympics. He played in two games, one against Canada and one against Serbia. The Fenerbahce forward missed his lone shot and didn’t score any points for Team USA. But it wasn’t about scoring points for Nigel.
The most important thing for Hayes-Davis was gaining knowledge he otherwise would’ve had no chance of getting. He kept a dedicated notebook of all the things Stephen Curry told him during his time with Team USA, he revealed to Swish Cultures.
“It’s on a shelf in my apartment. It’s guarded by my cat,” Hayes-Davis said. “I have pictures of it on my phone, though. It’s great stuff, great stuff. Pretty soon, I’m going to start uploading videos from my time. The series is called The Mountaintop.”
Interestingly, Stephen Curry also indirectly helped Hayes-Davis off the court regarding entrepreneurship and business.
