Tyler Deon Honeycutt (July 15, 1990 – July 7, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 2009 to 2011, and got drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2011 NBA draft. He played with the Kings for two seasons and in 2013 moved to Europe, where he played for EuroLeague clubs Khimki and Anadolu Efes. He died after a shootout with the police on July 7, 2018.

High School career

Honeycutt attended Sylmar High School in Sylmar, California.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Honeycutt was listed as the No. 4 small forward and the No. 28 player in the nation in 2009.

College career

In his freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he played in the final 26 games, starting 18, and led the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game. He was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. His sophomore year, he improved significantly, being named a team co-MVP, first team All-Pac-10player, after averaging 12.8 points per game and leading the conference in blocks with 2.1 per game.[3]He declared for the NBA draft after the season.

Professional career

Sacramento Kings

Honeycutt was drafted in the second round with the 35th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA draft. He played in his first NBA game on December 31, 2011, and scored two points in four minutes.[6] On January 1, 2012, Honeycutt was assigned to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League. The Kings recalled him on January 24.

During the 2012–13 season, Honeycutt was reassigned to the Bighorns on November 7 and recalled by the Kings on December 17. On February 20, 2013, he was traded to the Houston Rockets.

Houston Rockets

On February 20, 2013, Honeycutt was traded to the Houston Rockets along with Thomas Robinson and Francisco García in exchange for Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich. On February 24, 2013, he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. He was waived by the Rockets on March 5, 2013, so they could sign guard Aaron Brooks. Afterwards, he rejoined the Vipers.

Europe

In August 2013, Honeycutt signed with Ironi Nes Ziona, who had recently gained promotion to the Israeli Super League.

On July 8, 2014, he signed a two-year deal with the Russian team Khimki.

On July 22, 2016, Honeycutt signed a 1+1 deal with Turkish club Anadolu Efes. On June 28, 2017, Efes officially opted out of their deal with Honeycutt, and the player became a free agent.

On July 14, 2017, Honeycutt returned to Khimki. He signed a contract for the 2017–18 season.

Death

According to reports, Honeycutt was found dead in his Sherman Oaks, CA home after a shootout with police.