Tyler Deon Honeycutt (July 15, 1990 – July 7, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, where he earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10 (known now as the Pac-12) as a sophomore in 2011.
Honeycutt was selected 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 committed suicide at age 27 following a shootout with police.
Honeycutt was drafted in the second round with the 35th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2011 NBA draft.[6] He played in his first NBA game on December 31, 2011, and scored two points in four minutes.[7] On January 1, 2012, Honeycutt was assigned to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League.[8] The Kings recalled him on January 24.[9]
During the 2012–13 season, Honeycutt was reassigned to the Bighorns on November 7 and recalled by the Kings on December 17.[10][11]
On July 8, 2014, he signed a two-year deal with the Russian team Khimki.[18] In 2014–15 season, he won the Eurocup championship with Khimki, Europe's second-tier competition.[13] In 2015–16 Euroleague, he made his debut in Europe's top competition. Over 23 EuroLeague games, he averaged 6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.[19]
Anadolu Efes (2016–2017)
On July 22, 2016, Honeycutt signed a 1+1 deal with Turkish club Anadolu Efes,[19] where he won the Turkish Basketball Super League Slam Dunk Contest.[13] Over 35 EuroLeague games, he averaged career highs of 9.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. On June 28, 2017, Efes officially opted out of their deal with Honeycutt, and he became a free agent.[20]
Return to Khimki (2017–2018)
On July 14, 2017, Honeycutt returned to Moscow-based Khimki. He signed a contract for the 2017–18 season.[21] After missing the first nine games of the EuroLeague season due to injury, he returned to the court in late November 2017.[22][23] He helped Khimki advance to the EuroLeague Playoffs, where they lost to CSKA Moscow 3–1 in the quarterfinal series.[24] Over 17 EuroLeague games, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[23] In VTB United League, Khimki lost the final game to CSKA Moscow, 95–84.[25]
Death
On the afternoon of July 6, 2018, Honeycutt's mother called 911 after he had been acting erratically. She said that he had been using nitrous oxide "for six months overseas and I think it scrambled his brain."[26][27] When police arrived they found that he had barricaded the entrance to his Sherman Oaks home.[28][29] He fired a shot that hit a wall next to an officer, who fired back at Honeycutt.[26] After nine hours, LAPD SWAT entered the home early the next morning, and found Honeycutt dead.[30]
Bort Escoto, who coached Honeycutt for four years at Sylmar High School, said that "he was a great kid to be around. But he was having some problems", because in Russia he did not know the language and the surroundings, concluding that "he was basically having a hard time with the adjustment. I just kept telling him he needed to get out and meet people".[29] An autopsy determined that he committed suicide by a gunshot wound to the head.[31]
Honeycutt's mother later sued the LAPD, saying it failed to de-escalate the situation and get him medical care.[32]
