Former Tar Heel Nassir Little Finding His Way in the NBA

When Nassir Little was leaving high school, he was a five-star prospect who would slash to the rim with ease, soar up in the air for dunks, and have a lot of athleticism in his game, similar to last season's Drake Powell (now in the NBA himself with the Brooklyn Nets).

However, he was unable to translate those skills and what he displayed in his one season in Chapel Hill to the NBA the way he might have hoped.

In his first season as a rookie, Little played in 48 games and scored 3.6 points per game while also logging in 2.3 rebounds, and just shy of one assist with 0.5.

Currently, Little is playing for Miami's G League team, Sioux Falls Skyforce. The six-foot-six wing has found success as he went on and averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists this past year — a big increase compared to when he started in the league.

Besides the Heat, Little has played for the Portland Trail Blazers (who drafted him) and the Phoenix Suns.

Prior to Little joining the pros, he accomplished a lot during his high school days. Here is some information found on GoHeels:

"Played for Coach Treig Burke at Orlando (Fla.) Christian Prep • Averaged 20 points and nine rebounds as a senior • Led Orlando Christian to back-to-back state titles as a junior and senior • Central Florida and 3-A State Player of the Year • Two-time district player of the year

• Salutatorian of his senior class • Member of the National Honor Society • Member of the All-A Honor Roll all four years at OCP • Most Valuable Player in the McDonald’s All-American Game after scoring 28 points and was co-MVP in the Jordan Brand Classic (24 points)

• Also played in the Allen Iverson Classic • First-team MaxPreps and third-team USA Today All-America in 2018 • Played AAU for 1 Family, averaging 18.2 points per game."

For some cool tidbits, below are some honors Little won while participating in the McDonald's All-American event and the Jordan Brand Classic:

"Tar Heels who won MVP honors in the McDonald’s All-American Game
1986 – J.R. Reid
1993 – Jerry Stackhouse (co-MVP)
1998 – Ronald Curry
2010 – Harrison Barnes (co-MVP)
2011 – James Michael McAdoo (co-MVP)
2014 – Justin Jackson (co-MVP)
2018 – NassirLittle

Tar Heels who won MVP honors in the Jordan Brand Classic
2002 – Sean May (co-MVP)
2005 – Tyler Hansbrough (co-MVP)
2010 – Harrison Barnes (co-MVP)
2011 – James Michael McAdoo (co-MVP)
2018 – Nassir Little (co-MVP)"

Little, who played alongside former Tar Heel Coby White as a freshman, has the tools to stay in the league, but his experience in the G League will prepare him for when the time is right and make that leap to a permanent stay in the NBA.

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