Former Wisconsin basketball star Nigel Hayes-Davis officially joined the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Roughly one month removed from the former Badger reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with the franchise, Hayes-Davis’ journey back to the NBA is now official. For the first time since the 2017-18 regular season, the Ohio native will lace up during an NBA regular season this fall.
Hayes-Davis’ return to the United States’ most coveted professional basketball league follows his hectic spring and summer run as a member of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Turkey. To conclude the 2024-25 EuroLeague campaign, Hayes-Davis helped guide Fenerbahce to an 81-70 victory over Monaco in the final with a 23-point, nine-rebound performance. The output netted him EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors and the club’s first title since 2017.
After the historic run, Boston Celtics‘ head coach Joe Mazulla traveled to Istanbul for the Bachesehir – Fenerbahçe game in early June, reigniting Hayes-Davis’ reality of playing in the NBA once more.
The previous summer, Hayes-Davis earned a Turkish League Championship and MVP honor in Turkey’s Basketbol Süper Ligi Finals, where he averaged over 17 points per game to snag finals MVP honors.
Nigel is officially a Phoenix Sun ☄️ pic.twitter.com/lI7Ly4kKue
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 25, 2025
That pair of runs served as enough evidence for an NBA squad to take a chance on the decorated college and European basketball star. The 6-foot-8 forward suited up in nine games for the Kings, Lakers and Raptors during the 2017-18 slate. He will now return to the hardwood alongside players such as Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams.
As a Badger from 2013-17, Hayes-Davis was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year (2014), a two-time third-team All-Big Ten (2015, 2017) honoree and an All-Big Ten first team selection (2016). He averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists across 150 appearances.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin basketball great Nigel Hayes officially returns to NBA