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Who is Talen Horton-Tucker?
Talen Horton-Tucker is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. The teenager drew a lot of attention because of Talen Horton-Tucker’s achievements with Simeon, where he led the school to three consecutive city championships.
After ending his stellar high school career, he committed to Iowa State, where he played for one season before joining the NBA.
He had his breakout performance at the Maui Invitational on November 20, 2018, scoring 26 points, 6 assists, and 14 rebounds in a win over Illinois.
With scouts monitoring players like Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, among others, Horton-performance Tucker’s immediately piqued the interest of NBA organizations.
NBA2K developers gave Talen Horton-Tucker a 72 overall rating in the 2021 edition.
However, in NBA 2022, his performance improved, and his rating rose to 76.
Early Life
Horton-Tucker was raised on Chicago’s North Side.
Smith, his high school coach, had no idea he’d wind up at Simeon as he evolved into one of Chicago’s greatest eighth-graders.
He was a diehard Simeon and Derrick Rose fan.
As much as he admired Simeon’s basketball, Horton-Tucker found his mentors on the North Side.
When he observed older students playing in the Uplift Community High School gym in Uptown or the local park district courts, the athlete said he looked up to them.
Derrick Randolph and Greg Tucker, future standouts at Lincoln Park and Whitney Young, competed against the best Chicago had to offer.
Tucker, a 2010 Lincoln Park High School alumnus, finally invited Horton-Tucker to play on the court with the bigger kids.
He wasn’t family, but he felt like it, according to Horton-Tucker, and Tucker encouraged the future Cyclone to be proud of his basketball background.
Early Career
Horton-Tucker began his career on the football team at Simeon Career Academy, where he helped the Wolverines win three consecutive City Championships.
In October of 2017, the athlete chose Iowa State over Illinois and Xavier. According to ESPN, Talen was a four-star prospect.
On November 20, 2018, Horton-Tucker set a career-high with 26 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Illinois.
As a freshman, Horton-Tucker averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in 27 minutes per game.
Horton-Tucker declared for the 2019 NBA Draft following his freshman season.
NBA Draft 2019
On June 20, 2019, the Orlando Magic picked Horton-Tucker with the 46th overall choice in the 2019 NBA Draft.
On draft night, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick and cash.
On July 13, 2019, Horton-Tucker signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was assigned to the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers’ NBA G League affiliate, for the start of the G League season.
He made his NBA debut on December 8, 2019, against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He was given a significant role during the NBA Bubble when the Lakers had clinched the top record in the Western Conference and even began the regular-season finale.
On September 12, 2020, Talen scored 9 points in 10 minutes off the bench to help the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 119-96 and progress to the next round of the Western Conference semifinals.
Horton-Tucker won his first NBA championship in 2020 when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals.
He became the NBA’s second-youngest champion at the age of 19 years and 322 days.
Regular Rotational Participant
Talen Horton-Tucker became a regular rotational player in the 2020-21 regular season after a good preseason.
On January 10, 2021, he had a career-high 17 points off the bench in the team’s 120-102 win over the Houston Rockets.
On February 4, the basketball player came off the bench to score 17 points in the team’s 114-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
On March 15, he set a new career-high with 18 points and 10 assists in the team’s 128-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
On April 8, Horton-Tucker received a one-game suspension after leaving the bench during a confrontation between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors.
On May 11, he hit the game-winning three-pointer in the team’s 101-99 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
Talen was declared out for at least four weeks on October 11, 2021, due to surgery to repair ruptured ligaments in his right thumb.
Height, weight, and age
Talen was born on November 25, 2000. He has reached the age of 21.
Talen Horton-Tucker, who can play many positions on the team, can thrive in this type of style.
He has a lot of two-way potentials, being 6’4″ tall with a wingspan of 7’1″. Similarly, he weighs 106 kg.
Talen can defend practically every position on the court due to his stature and length, and Frank Vogel hopes to deploy him as such.
He possesses exceptional defensive reflexes, toughness, length, and the ability to deflect the ball.
He’s made several great basket plays, like blocking shots and causing verts (vertical collisions).
Talen was born under the Sagittarius zodiac sign. Sapiens born under the Sagittarius zodiac have an imaginative soul.
They appear to be loners, but they are actively seeking ways to interact with people.
Horton Tucker and his family
Talen Horton Tucker’s proud parents are Shirey Horton and Marlin Tucker.
He had a good upbringing with his father and mother, who encouraged him to play basketball.
Horton-Tucker appreciates his excellent fortune. Because of his mother, he grew up in a secure home.
She served as an elementary school teacher on the North and West Sides at McCutcheon Elementary and Nash Elementary.
She knew the neighborhood kids, and they knew her.
If Horton-Tucker made a mistake, his mother would be the first to know.
Horton-Tucker reflects on him “under the spotlight” boyhood, recognizing that it helped him create the groundwork for a successful future.
Loss of a Loved One
Talen’s father, Marlin Tucker, died of a heart attack in late April 2016, only two days before his 42nd birthday and months before his son might be contacted by college recruiters.
The next day, Horton-Tucker participated to his heart’s content in an Indianapolis event.
Former Simeon point guard Saieed Ivey, who was one of the reasons Horton-Tucker chose Simeon, was viciously shot and killed outside a Los Angeles apartment complex in the early morning hours of June 9 during his freshman year at East Los Angeles College.
It happened just days before he was awarded a full scholarship by Iowa State University.
Greg Tucker, his cousin, was shot in the head and killed four months later in an apparent drive-by on Chicago’s North Side.
According to Smith, Horton-Tucker battled with the deaths and went through a period where he wasn’t himself as a person or a player.
Relationships
Horton-Tucker maintains a quiet life and has not divulged anything about it to the public.
He is said to have a girlfriend, although no confirmation has been supplied.
The Lakers’ guard was photographed with a woman named Kharaan on his prom night, and the two are reported to be dating.
Furthermore, he is so enthusiastic about basketball that he will go to any length to make a good first impression! LA’s ladies will soon be head over heels for The Sponge!
Talen Horton-Salary Tucker’s
Horton-Tucker signed a three-year, $30.78 million contract with the Lakers in 2021.
The Lake Show signed him to an early bird free-agent contract.
The teen will receive a base pay of $9,500,000, with an annual package of an average of $10,260,000.
Horton-Tucker has yet to establish himself as a star in the NBA.
The shooting guard is likely to secure big contracts in the future, although his current salary at the end of the 2024 season will be $33,140,147.
Horton-Tucker has been wearing Nike sneakers since his freshman year in the league.
The Lakers player has previously worn Nike Kobe V, VII, and VIII, as well as Kyrie Irving’s trademark sneakers.
LeBron James informed his agent, Rich Paul, that he should start recruiting Horton-Tucker after viewing one high school game.
Everyone has a story to tell now that Horton-Tucker has proven he’s the real deal, giving his developing reputation a Paul Bunyan-like atmosphere.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope says he’s seen “nothing but brilliance” from his young teammate throughout training camp.
He made an impression on the Lakers throughout the preseason and in his limited postseason outings.
However, it may not compare to the myth he’s begun to establish in the collective consciousness of the basketball world, where he’s getting closer to becoming more myth than man.
Playing Method
Horton-Tucker takes the ball on a fast break and cuts through the Curie defense before reaching back and laying down a monster one-handed tomahawk slam.
It’s something he’s done so many times this season that it’s become a habit.
When you see Tucker compete, you get the sense that he’s a young man with a chip on his shoulder, a man looking to prove himself.
Talen’s aggressiveness has been compared to Kobe Bryant’s or Paul Pierce’s killer instincts in the past.
Despite all of the highlights and star-studded performances, Talen has remained relatively unknown in comparison to some of the country’s other elite players.
Perhaps this is why Chicago has been so welcoming to him.
They’ve seen flashes of his abilities, and they can’t wait to see him wreak havoc in the coming seasons.
Talen Horton-Basketball Tucker’s Adventure
To say the least, Talen’s journey has not been easy.
After getting past his gruff demeanor and on-court hardness, you’ll discover a timid young man who has had to mature considerably faster than a normal adolescent.
Paulette Horton, Talen’s grandma, died at the age of 13 after a nearly year-long fight with colon cancer.
Horton was a household name on Chicago’s North Side.
Others may have given up under comparable situations, but Talen continued.
One of the lessons Talen has learned and put into practice is the need of setting a good example for the youth in his community, just like his grandmother did before him.
Talen’s path has been difficult and painful, but his story is far from over.
The athlete is already a Chicago legend, and he is eager to face new challenges.
Also, read Giba, Alphonso Davies, Marco Fabian
Presence on Social Media
Talen Horton-Tucker is active on a number of social media networks.
The player frequently publishes images of his basketball games on social media, keeping his followers entertained and up to date. Here’s a link to his social media:
412k followers on Instagram (As of March 2022)
81.8k followers on Twitter (As of March 2022)
