Drew Tim opens up about the skills he’s been building with South Bay

LOS ANGELES – 2025-26 G League The season was officially announced this week, and the South Bay Lakers affiliate Los Angeles Lakerscruised to a 144-105 win on opening night against the Valley Suns. Although it was just the first game of the season for South Bay, the prevailing thought after the win was that Drew Timm was in line for an NBA call-up at some point this year.

Former Brooklyn Nets big man fell in the game 34 points, took 11 rebounds, and even played some point guard, initiating the attack and giving six assists. South Bay head coach Zach Guthrie often played Drew Thiem at power forward, using him as a four and trusting him to handle the ball.

But one aspect of Timme’s game that really stood out was his three-point shooting. Timme was just 1-of-4 from distance, but showed confidence in making that shot. After the game, he admitted that it had been in the works for some time.

“It’s been a process. I’ve been working on it for the last five years. I’ve changed my shot twice, made some changes, and I’ve gotten to a place where I feel really good about it. There’s a lot of guys that have helped me, my high school coach, coach (Marc) Johnson, he’s helped me a lot,” he told me a lot. “Last summer, the last three summers, I just kept repeating it, just kept building on it. It feels great. I think it looks a lot better than it did two years ago, so I just keep building on it.”

After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft, Drew Thiem began his professional career with the Wisconsin Herd, the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. His time with the Herd was cut short though by a season-ending injury. The team resurfaced last season with the Stockton Kings, and was eventually traded to the Long Island Nets.

Timme’s game with Long Island he attracted the attention of his parent club and signed a multi-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets in late March. In his first career NBA game, Tim dropped a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds against the LA Clippers.

Overall, Tim appeared in nine games with the Nets, including two starts, logging just over 28 minutes per game. He averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 44.1 percent from the field. But amid the roster rush, Timme was one of the Nets’ final cuts before the start of this season.

While his early play suggests he may not be long before the G League, Timm is enjoying his time in the South Bay and the freedom he has in Guthrie’s offense, especially the opportunity to showcase his playmaking game.

“It’s definitely something I’ve been working on, but it’s also the confidence he (Guthrie) has in me. And when you get confidence from your boss, it gives you the confidence to do more,” Thiem said. “I always thought I was a pretty good passer, but to be able to play point guard and be in different actions and create that way, which is very different from out of the post, it gives me that confidence. And I’ve earned it, and I have to continue to earn it. It’s been great, it’s been a lot of fun.”