Ty-Shon Alexander
Ty-Shon Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 16, 1998 United States |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Known for | Basketball career with Creighton Bluejays, Phoenix Suns, Virtus Bologna, Delaware Blue Coats |
Ty-Shon Leron Alexander (born July 16, 1998) is a professional basketball player from the United States. He competed in college basketball representing the Creighton Bluejays. After not being selected in the 2020 NBA draft, Alexander signed with the Phoenix Suns in November 2020 and advanced to the NBA Finals during his rookie year. Since that time, he has split his career between the NBA G League and European leagues, securing the Italian Supercup title with Virtus Bologna in 2021 and capturing the NBA G League championship with the Delaware Blue Coats in 2023.
Additionally, Alexander was a member of the U.S. national team that won the bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.
High school career
Alexander began his high school basketball journey at Concord High School, where he received All-South Piedmont 3A Conference recognition and was named an honorable mention on MaxPreps.com's Freshman All-American Team. He transferred to Northside Christian Academy in Charlotte for his sophomore year before moving to Oak Hill Academy as a junior. In his senior season, he recorded a 50-point game and averaged 14.1 points per contest, shooting an impressive 46.3% from beyond the arc. Rated as a four-star recruit and ranked No. 85 by Rivals, Alexander committed to play for Creighton on October 31, 2015, opting for them over offers from Clemson, Charlotte, and Virginia Tech.
College career
On November 20, 2017, Alexander earned Big East freshman of the week honors after contributing 14 points along with three rebounds and two assists in a narrow 92–88 victory against Northwestern. Serving as a backup to Marcus Foster during his freshman season, he averaged 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Following that year, Alexander dedicated himself to enhancing his shooting skills by taking 100 shots nightly before sleep to emerge as Creighton’s next leading scorer.
On November 22, 2018, he achieved a personal best of 36 points in an 87–82 triumph over Clemson. His outstanding performance on January 28, 2019—26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists—helped secure a 91–87 win against Georgetown and earned him Big East player of the week recognition. During his sophomore campaign, Alexander averaged 15.7 points, four rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game and received All-Big East Honorable Mention alongside teammate Martin Krampelj.
Alexander crossed the milestone of 1,000 career points on January 16, 2020, scoring 14 points despite a loss to Georgetown. He was honored with selection to the First Team All-Big East at the conclusion of the regular season. In his junior year, he posted averages of 16.9 points, five rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while ranking second in free throw percentage (86%) and sixth in three-point shooting (39.9%) within the Big East conference. After completing that season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.
Phoenix Suns (2020–2021)
After not being selected in the 2020 NBA draft, Alexander secured a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. He made his first NBA appearance on December 27, 2020, contributing to a 116–100 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Two days later, he recorded a rebound and an assist in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Since the Suns did not send their Northern Arizona Suns to the 2021 NBA G League Bubble, Alexander’s G League rights were assigned to the Canton Charge for his rookie campaign. Alexander advanced to the 2021 NBA Finals with Phoenix, where they were defeated in six games by the Milwaukee Bucks. On August 26, 2021, the Suns released him.
Virtus Bologna (2021–2022)
Alexander inked a two-year deal with Virtus Bologna of Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) in September 2021. On September 21, Virtus captured its second 2021 Italian Basketball Supercup title by overcoming Olimpia Milano 90–84. The player and club mutually agreed to terminate his contract on February 15, 2022.
Pallacanestro Trieste (2022)
On February 15, 2022, Alexander signed with fellow LBA team Pallacanestro Trieste.
Greensboro Swarm (2022–2023)
Alexander participated with the Charlotte Hornets during the 2022 NBA Summer League before joining the training camp roster for the Greensboro Swarm. He was included on Greensboro’s roster for their season opener on November 4, 2022.
Delaware Blue Coats (2023)
On February 24, 2023, Alexander was traded to the Delaware Blue Coats, where he played a role in securing the team's NBA G League championship title.
Koroivos (2023–2024)
Alexander signed with Koroivos of the Greek A2 Elite League on November 22, 2023. He averaged 17.5 points per contest and ranked among the top scorers in the league.
Panionios (2024)
On June 26, 2024, Alexander agreed to terms with Panionios competing in the Greek Basket League, but left the team without appearing in any games.
Keflavík (2024–2025)
Alexander joined Iceland’s Keflavík of the Úrvalsdeild karla on November 13, 2024. During the regular season, he posted averages of 20.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. On March 27, 2025, he scored a season-best 38 points to help Keflavík clinch a playoff spot. In the postseason, he averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists as Keflavík was eliminated in the first round by Tindastóll.
National team career
In summer 2019, Alexander represented the U.S. National Team at the Pan American Games held in Peru and contributed to winning a bronze medal.
Personal life
Alexander is the son of Eric and Tina Alexander and has one sibling named Rodjrick.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 15 || 0 || 3.2 || .250 || .222 || .500 || .7 || .4 || .0 || .1 || .6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 15 || 0 || 3.2 || .250 || .222 || .500 || .7 || .4 || .0 || .1 || .6
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Phoenix | 1 || 0 || 1.3 || 1.000 || — || — || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Overall | 1 || 0 || 1.3 || 1.000 || — || — || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0
College
|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18 | style="text-align:left;"| Creighton | 33 || 1 || 17.7 || .418 || .333 || .707 || 2.1 || 1.8 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 5.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19 | style="text-align:left;"| Creighton | 34 || 34 || 32.6 || .406 || .365 || .794 || 4.0 || 2.7 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 15.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20 | style="text-align:left;"| Creighton | 31 || 31 || 34.7 || .431 || .399 || .860 || 5.0 || 2.3 || 1.3 || 0.3|| 16.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Total | 98||66||28.2||.418||.372||.813||3.7||2.3||0.9||0.2||12.7