Tyler Paul Zeller (born January 17, 1990) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

, where as a freshman he played on their 2009 national championship team and as a senior was an All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. He is the nephew of former NBA player

Al Eberhard Allen Dean Eberhard (born May 10, 1952) is an American retired professional basketball player. Amateur career Out of rural Springville, Iowa and Springville High School, Eberhard was third team All-State in his senior year, graduating in 1970. ...

, and the brother of fellow NBA players

Cody Zeller Cody Allen Zeller (born October 5, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. Zeller was selected with the fourth pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the t ...

and

Luke Zeller Lucas Joseph Zeller (born April 7, 1987) is an American-Georgian former professional basketball player. He is the brother of NBA players Tyler and Cody Zeller, and the nephew of former NBA player Al Eberhard. High school career Zeller attended ...

High school career

Born in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

, Tyler Zeller grew up in

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana. The population was 11,509 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

, attending Washington High School. In his four years at Washington High, his team won four sectional titles, as well as state Class 3A championships in his freshman and senior years (2005 and 2008). In his senior year, he averaged 33.1

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

and 11.0

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, and also shot 69% from the field and 82% from the

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

line. In his final high school game, the '08 Class 3A final against Fort Wayne Harding, he scored 47 points, which broke a record for scoring by a player in an Indiana boys' state championship game that had stood since 1970. He was not only a basketball superstar, but also played on Washington High's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

team for three years, and finished his high school career with a 3.99

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

on a 4.0 scale, good for third in his graduating class. After the 2008 season, he was named "Mr. Basketball" in Indiana, the state's highest honor for high school players. He received the title three years after his brother Luke and three years before his brother Cody were honored with the same award. He was also named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

, as well as a first-team ''Parade'' All-American. During the early stages of the signing period in November 2007, Zeller signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

to play at North Carolina. When the university announced his signing, Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said about Zeller, "I think he is the finest running big man in the country and he has a tremendous shooting touch to go with that ability to run the floor." Zeller notably exhibited that shooting touch at a high school all-star game during the 2008

Kentucky Derby Festival The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 to ...

, at which he won the event's three-point shooting contest. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Zeller was listed as the No. 7 center and the No. 33 player in the nation in 2008.

College career

Zeller started the first two games of the 2008–09 season in place of the previous season's consensus national Player of the Year,

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well ...

, who was sidelined with a stress reaction in his right shin. In his first game, he scored 18 points in Carolina's season-opening win over Penn. The Tar Heels' next game, on November 18, was against another equally storied team,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. The Heels scored a surprisingly easy 77–58 win over the Wildcats, but suffered another injury blow, this time involving Zeller. With 1:26 left in the game, Zeller went for a breakaway dunk off a turnover, but was fouled by Kentucky's Ramon Harris before he could score. Zeller fell to the floor awkwardly, got up, and was taken to the locker room holding his left wrist.

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

s showed that Zeller had broken both of the major bones in his lower left arm (the

radius In classical geometry, a radius (plural, : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', ...

and

ulna The ulna (''pl''. ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm. That is, the ulna is on the same side of t ...

). The day after the injury, he had surgery at

UNC Hospitals UNC Medical Center (UNCMC) is a 905-bed non-profit, nationally ranked, public, research and academic medical center located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, providing tertiary care for the Research Triangle, surrounding areas and North Carolina. The ...

to repair the broken bones. In early January 2009, Zeller's cast was removed. Zeller made his return during his freshman season on February 18, 2009, in the Tar Heels' home game against North Carolina State, playing 8 minutes and scoring 2 points. As a sophomore, Zeller averaged 9.3 points per game on 52.1% shooting and 4.6 rebounds per game in limited action off the bench. Zeller averaged 15.7 points per game during his junior year. He shot 54.7% and averaged 7.2 rebounds per game. He had a more active role, playing an average of 28.1 minutes per game, significantly more than the 17.4 minutes per game during his sophomore campaign. Zeller averaged 16.5 points per game on 55.3% shooting during his senior season. He also played an average of 28.2 minutes per game. Zeller was voted to the All-ACC First Team his senior year and was named the

ACC Player of the Year Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport ACC Players of the Year by year: * Atlantic Coast Confere ...

. Zeller was also named a second team all American by the

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

and the

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

as a senior. Both accolades made him eligible to have his jersey honored in the rafters of the Smith Center at the conclusion of his college career.

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2012–2014)

Zeller announced that he was entering the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

along with North Carolina teammates

Harrison Barnes Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes (born May 30, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being sele ...

Kendall Marshall Kendall Dewan Marshall (born August 19, 1991) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. He played college basketball for th ...

and John Henson. He was selected by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

with the 17th pick in the draft, and was the fourth Tar Heel to be selected in the first round. He was subsequently traded to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

on draft night, and signed his rookie scale contract with the Cavaliers on July 5, 2012. On October 11, 2013, Zeller underwent an emergency appendectomy procedure to remove his appendix and was subsequently ruled out indefinitely. He recovered from the surgery in time to face the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

in the team's 2013–14 season opener on October 30. On March 22, 2014, Zeller scored a then career-high 23 points in a 118–111 loss to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

Boston Celtics (2014–2017)

On July 10, 2014, Zeller was traded to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in a three-team trade that also involved the Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets. On December 5, 2014, he scored a then career-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting in a 113–96 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. He set a new career high on March 16, 2015 against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

, scoring 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting to help the Celtics defeat the 76ers, 108–89. Zeller started the 2015–16 season as the Celtics' starting center, but moved to the bench after just three games. Over the Celtics' first 25 games of the season, Zeller logged nine DNPs.Tyler Zeller 2015-16 Game Log
/ref> On December 16, he scored a season-high 12 points in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

, hitting 5-of-7 from the field in less than ten minutes. Zeller began to see increased minutes in early February, recording two 16-point games on February 2 against the New York Knicks, and on February 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, both wins. On February 7, he again set a season high, scoring 17 points in a 128–119 win over the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. On April 8, he tied a career high with 26 points in a 124–109 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 29, 2016, the Celtics tendered a qualifying offer to make Zeller a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

. He went on to re-sign with the Celtics on July 27, 2016. On July 2, 2017, he was waived by the Celtics.

Brooklyn Nets (2017–2018)

On September 12, 2017, Zeller signed a multi-year contract with the

Milwaukee Bucks (2018)

On February 5, 2018, Zeller was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

in exchange for

Rashad Vaughn Rashad DeAndre Vaughn (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. High school career For the first three years of hi ...

and the rights to a future second-round draft pick. On October 13, 2018, he was waived by the Bucks.

Atlanta Hawks (2019)

On March 7, 2019, Zeller signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. He was not retained by the Hawks upon the expiration of the 10-day contract.

Memphis Grizzlies (2019)

On April 5, 2019, Zeller signed with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

for the remainder of the season.

San Antonio Spurs (2020)

On September 28, 2019, the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

had announced that Zeller had joined for training camp. On October 18, 2019 the Nuggets waived Zeller. On June 24, 2020, the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

signed Zeller to their roster to complete the 2019–20 season following the restart of league play coming out of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On December 2, Zeller was included in training camp roster with the Spurs, but was later waived by the

on December 19.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

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Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 82 , , 59 , , 21.1 , , .549 , , – , , .823 , , 5.7 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .6 , , 10.2 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 3 , , 11.8 , , .476 , , – , , .815 , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.1 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

, 51 , , 5 , , 10.3 , , .494 , , .000 , , .564 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.5 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, 42 , , 33 , , 16.7 , , .546 , , .385 , , .667 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .2 , , .5 , , 7.1 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, 24 , , 1 , , 16.9 , , .590 , , .000 , , .895 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.9 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , - , , 3.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 0.0 , - , style= "text-align:left;", , style= "text-align:left;",

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

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San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , .250 , , - , , - , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 414 , , 166 , , 17.5 , , .508 , , .286 , , .764 , , 4.4 , , .9 , , .3 , , .6 , , 6.9

Playoffs

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, 4 , , 4 , , 22.5 , , .517 , , – , , .800 , , 4.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

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, 3 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .467 , , – , , .667 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .7 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 11 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .520 , , – , , .750 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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, 7 , , 3 , , 9.4 , , .800 , , – , , .750 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , 7 , , 10.9 , , .527 , , – , , .739 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.8

College

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North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

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, 27 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .521 , , .0 , , .722 , , 4.6 , , .3 , , .5 , , .9 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 37 , , 35 , , 28.1 , , .549 , , – , , .759 , , 7.2 , , .6 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 28.2 , , .553 , , – , , .808 , , 9.6 , , .9 , , .9 , , 1.5 , , 16.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 117 , , 75 , , 23.0 , , .543 , , .0 , , .775 , , 6.7 , , .6 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 12.8

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeller, Tyler 1990 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Indiana Boston Celtics players Brooklyn Nets players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks draft picks McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Milwaukee Bucks players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Washington, Indiana Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Visalia, California United States men's national basketball team players