DALLAS, Texas – Former Bushnell men’s basketball player Kylor Kelley made his debut in an NBA uniform on Monday night, playing for the Dallas Mavericks.
Kelley played with the Beacons during the 2016-2017 season and went on to complete his collegiate career with the Oregon State Beavers. He was signed by the Mavericks on Sunday in the wake of the loss of three big men in an eleven-day stretch which had left them thin in the post.
Kelley got into the game in the fourth quarter on Monday night as the Mavericks defeated the Washington Wizards, 130-108. In eight minutes of play, he pulled down four rebounds and scored his first point on a free-throw with 5:03 remaining.
The 7’0” Center had been an NBA G-League journeyman since graduating from OSU in 2020. He spent the 2024 training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was most recently a member of the South Bay Lakers G-League team where he was averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 63.5% from the field. He was an NBA G League All-Defensive Team selection in 2024 when he led the league in blocked shots (83), averaging 2.86 per game.
Luke Jackson, Bushnell’s head coach in 2016, said, “I remember seeing Kylor come into a workout for high school all-stars when he was a 6’9” 17-year old, and I invited him down for an open gym. He was lengthy and athletic. I looked at Kylor gliding up and down the floor and the size of his hands and his speed and I knew he had an NBA body in the making, and he was still growing. I am so proud of him to be able to have come so far from his time with us. It is a testament to hard work and his love of the game.”
Kelley had a short but memorable run with the Beacons in the fall of 2016, during which time he established his signature abilities on defense, setting the Bushnell single-game record for blocks (9). His 56 blocks ranked second in school history for a single season, and he ranks seventh on Bushnell’s career blocks list as well.
He earned Pac-12 He earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team nods in both of his last two college seasons at Oregon State (2019, 2020). In those two seasons, he set Oregon State records in career blocked shots (211), blocked shots in a season (107), and blocked shots in a game (9). His 211 blocked shots at Oregon State are the seventh-most in Pac-12 history.
Kelley, who was signed to a two-way contract, is expected to have a significant role for the Mavericks for the next few months as they await the returns of Dereck Lively II, Dwight Powell, and Maxi Kleber from various injuries.