Minnesota Timberwolves guard Bones Hyland, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
There was a time when Bones Hyland wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to play basketball again. On March 25, 2018, Hyland (then a high school junior) was forced to jump out of a second-story window as flames engulfed his Wilmington, Delaware, home.
He tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in the process, and his baby cousin and grandmother passed away in the fire.
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“I cried my eyes out,” he recently told The Athletic. “But I knew it wasn’t the end for me. God always got the last say-so.”
Eight years later to the day, he’ll take the court Wednesday night for the Minnesota Timberwolves, looking to continue being a spark off the bench as they face the Houston Rockets. After spending some time in the G-League the past few seasons, Hyland has played 63 NBA games this year, with a good chance to top the career-best 69 he played his rookie year.
And he’s provided real production for the Timberwolves while star guard Anthony Edwards and point guard Mike Conley have been out with injuries. Hyland has scored 17 or more points in each of the past four games, including 23 in a win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
“The way Bones is playing right now, it’s really important we keep him in this group when Ant comes back,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said after Sunday’s game. “That means a couple things: one is finding more minutes for him, and two, letting him do his thing. The most important thing is we’re playing fast right now, and we’re playing to the strengths of this roster.”
Hyland was a high school star at St. Georges Tech in Middletown, Delaware, about 30 miles south of Wilmington. His legend grew from stories and videos that surfaced from pick-up games, aided by a vibrant personality. He was so popular in the area that the hospital was overrun by visitors following the fire and leg injury, The Athletic reported.
He rehabbed his knee and returned for his senior season, where he averaged 26 points and 4.6 assists. He went on to play two seasons at VCU, where he was the 2021 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a sophomore. The Denver Nuggets selected him No. 26 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft and he was selected to the 2022 All-Rookie second team.
His time in Denver ended roughly when his playing time dwindled and he clashed with coaches about his role.
“It was one of those situations where I had to really mature as a person,” Hyland told The Athletic. “I felt like I knew it all at a young age. I was playing a lot. I wanted to play a little bit more. Sometimes, that happens as a player. You’re competitive — you want to play more. Every player in the NBA wants to play more than what they’re getting.”
He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2023, then traded to the Timberwolves almost exactly two years later. Needless to say, he’s looking for a chance to carve out a more permanent role with the Timberwolves after spending some time with the Iowa Wolves of the G League.
It’s why he plays with such urgency, and at this point, he has little fear in his game after what he’s endured in his life.
“It’s like I see food at the rim,” Hyland told The Athletic. “If I’ve got one-on-one in transition, I’m going right at him. It’s me and you, and I’m going to win that battle.”
That type of attitude can earn respect from coaches and teammates quickly. That appears to be the case in Minnesota.
“I love having him on the team,” Finch said. “He’s the same every day. He’s a super happy guy. He’s one of these guys who brings joy to the game in the way that he plays it.”
A major reason for that positive attitude is Hyland’s faith in God and gratitude for life after knowing how differently things could’ve ended eight years ago.
“By the grace of God, I was able to have a second chance at life,” Hyland told The Athletic. “So why not come in and smile every day and put a smile on people’s faces? Because my life was almost taken, so you never know what someone else is going through.”
He thanks God on social media, and when he checks into a game, he makes the shape of a cross on his chest to show how thankful he is that God gave him the chance to live and continue playing basketball.
“So that’s something that I thank the Lord for keeping me here and keeping me going,” he told ESPN in 2022 after a game in which some of the firefighters who saved his life attended. “That’s something I play for each and every day. I try to go out there and play with joy and that swag and just be me at all times.”
At times, especially around the anniversary of the fire, he can still smell and even taste the smoke again. It’s a memory that will likely never fade, he said.
But being on the court helps him cope. As he’s matured in life since that incident, he’s also matured as a basketball player. A big part of that is being coachable and understanding how to play within a specific structure. For Minnesota, that looks like more passing, more playmaking and wisely harnessing the aggression that helped make him who he is.
“When I’m out there, I’m going to give that energy to my teammates and let them know they can count on me, they can trust me and I want them to feel my energy so they can pick up my energy if their energy is down,” Hyland said.
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