Grant Nelson (basketball)

Grant Nelson
Nelson with Alabama in 2024
No. 22 – Long Island Nets
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (2002-03-18) March 18, 2002
Devils Lake, North Dakota, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolDevils Lake
(Devils Lake, North Dakota)
College
NBA draft2025: undrafted
Playing career2025–present
Career history
2025–presentLong Island Nets
2026Brooklyn Nets
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Grant Nelson (born March 18, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide and the North Dakota State Bison.

Early life and high school career

Nelson grew up in Devils Lake, North Dakota and attended Devils Lake High School.[1] He played mostly on the junior varsity team as a freshman and sophomore.[2] Nelson averaged 16.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 5.1 blocks per game and was named second team All-State during his junior season.[3] He was named North Dakota Mr. Basketball as a senior after averaging 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 5.7 blocks per game.[4] Nelson committed to playing college basketball for North Dakota State over offers from North Dakota and Division II programs Northern State, University of Mary, Minot State, and Minnesota State-Moorhead.[5]

College career

North Dakota State

Nelson played in all 27 of NDSU's games, with five starts as a freshman and was named the Summit League Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.[6] He became a starter as a sophomore and averaged 11.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.[7][8] During Nelson's junior season, a highlight reel of his play went viral in early January 2023.[9] As a junior, Grant averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, as well as shooting 52.1% from the field.[10] These stats also earned him his first All-Summit First Team and All-Summit Defensive Team honors.[11]

Alabama

Following the 2022–23 season, Nelson explored his options in the 2023 NBA draft but ultimately withdrew to return to college for his senior season. On June 12, 2023, he transferred to Alabama after spending three seasons at North Dakota State.[12] Nelson averaged 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game for the Crimson Tide in 2023-24. In the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina, he posted 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks, helping Alabama advance to the Elite 8 for the second time in program history[13] on their way to their first ever Final Four. On April 29, 2024, he announced he was returning for his final season at Alabama.[14] In his final season of collegiate eligibility for Alabama, he averaged 11.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game, helping the Crimson Tide reach the Elite 8 as a 2-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. He was a huge factor in Alabama's overtime victory at archrival Auburn in the final game of the regular season, scoring 23 points and grabbing 8 rebounds versus the Tigers.[15]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft, Nelson signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Brooklyn Nets to compete for a two-way contract. During the 2025 NBA Summer League, Nelson appeared in all five games and averaged 6.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.1 minutes per game.[16][17]

On October 15, 2025, the Nets officially announced that they signed Nelson to a training camp deal,[18] but waived him on October 18.[19] He later signed with the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League on November 3.[20]

On February 27, 2026, the Nets signed Nelson to a 10-day contract, where he saw his first NBA minutes. Across four appearances for Brooklyn, Nelson averaged 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.[21] Following the expiry of his contract on March 9, the Nets elected not to re-sign Nelson.[22] On March 13, it was announced that Nelson had returned to Long Island; concurrently it was revealed that Brooklyn had not re-signed Nelson due to patellar tendinitis that would sideline him for the remainder of the season.[23]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 North Dakota State 27 5 20.9 .471 .356 .711 3.7 .6 .2 .9 6.3
2021–22 North Dakota State 29 21 25.8 .508 .322 .733 4.9 1.1 .2 1.3 11.6
2022–23 North Dakota State 30 30 30.7 .521 .269 .720 9.3 2.1 .8 1.7 17.9
2023–24 Alabama 37 37 25.6 .488 .273 .813 5.9 1.5 0.6 1.6 11.9
2024–25 Alabama 37 37 25.5 .522 .258 .667 7.6 1.6 0.5 1.2 11.5
Career 160 130 25.7 .502 .296 .729 6.3 1.4 .5 1.3 11.8

References

  1. ^ Davis, Seth (February 22, 2023). "The Unicorn Era: Victor Wembanyama heads a coming stampede of skilled big men". The Athletic. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. ^ Zastrow, Nate (June 20, 2019). "Bison Hoops Offers Two Big Men". 247Sports. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Devils Lake's Grant Nelson standing out above the basketball crowd". Grand Forks Herald. December 24, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "Devils Lake's Nelson named North Dakota Mr. Basketball". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. March 27, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "Devils Lake's Grant Nelson to play college basketball at NDSU". Grand Forks Herald. July 8, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "With Grant Nelson, Bison men have a unique player to throw at opposing teams". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. October 31, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "Bison men's basketball players Cook, Harden-Hayes enter the transfer portal". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. March 14, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "NBA Draft Scouting Report: North Dakota State's Grant Nelson". SI.com. February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "McFeely: Thanks in part to viral video, NBA steam begins for Bison's Grant Nelson". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. January 13, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  10. ^ "Grant Nelson Stats, News, Bio". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  11. ^ "ORU's Abmas nets second #SummitMBB Player of the Year Award". thesummitleague.org. The Summit League. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. ^ "North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson commits to Alabama: What Tide are getting in big man". theathletic.com. The Athletic. June 12, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "Alabama holds off top-seeded North Carolina 89-87 to reach Elite Eight for 2nd time ever". espn.com. AP. March 29, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  14. ^ Byler, Blake (April 29, 2024). "Grant Nelson Returning to Alabama Basketball for Final Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  15. ^ "Mark Sears' floater at OT buzzer sends No. 7 Alabama past top-ranked Auburn 93-91". espn.com. AP. March 8, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
  16. ^ "Brooklyn Nets Announce 2025 Summer League Roster | Brooklyn Nets". brooklynnets.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  17. ^ "Brooklyn Nets Sign Grant Nelson | Brooklyn Nets". brooklynnets.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  18. ^ "Brooklyn Nets Sign Grant Nelson | Brooklyn Nets". brooklynnets.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  19. ^ "Grant Nelson: Cut by Brooklyn". CBS Sports. October 18, 2025. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  20. ^ "LONG ISLAND NETS ANNOUNCE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". Long Island Nets. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  21. ^ "Grant Nelson ESPN".
  22. ^ "Reports: Brooklyn Nets not re-signing Grant Nelson". devilslakejournal.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  23. ^ "Malachi Smith earns Nets 10-day contract as Grant Nelson's season ends early". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
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