It was a cool Tuesday evening around 6.00 Pm in Germany in late June when I reached Kris Clyburn (198-G/F-1996, college: UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada. I actually was famished and wanted dinner, but when a player is ready for an interview then I do have to make sacrifices even for my stomach. The ex UNLV player was on his way to a workout at 9AM. The interview was going great, but as I mentioned his brother Will, I could sense this change in tone to total admiration. Will has always been the big brother and been the guy that has played at the highest level while Kris has followed and is still trying to climb the basketball ladder. Will has had a big influence on Kris’s life and career and even been a kind of good luck charm as his presence was there in some of his biggest games in his career. In Turkey, Will was the opponent and there to witness Kris’s win against Euroleague team Efes and in his last game in Germany in possibly the biggest game of his career in a mega do or die game was also there to cheer him on and experience a whole arena sustain ecstasy as the former 2004 Fiba Europe Cup winner MBC was saved from moving down to the second division. ‘My brother has been overseas for 10 years. He has set the blue pint and played everywhere at a high level. His most important piece of advice that he gave me was before last season. I was coming off a tough season in Israel and he told me that all it takes is one season to change your life. Just keep working, because your time is coming. That is exactly what a big brother would say’, stressed Kris Clyburn who doesn’t play 1-1 games with brother Will, but moreover plays the first to make 5 in a row. But not to forget, it was actually his dad that had the biggest influence in him picking up the basketball. Kris Clyburn will never refrain from having good luck charm Will in the arena when he is balling.

Kris Clyburn who remembers current Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum as being his toughest opponent in the NCAA was born on April 20, 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Romulus Senior high school and had a fantastic season averaging 22,0ppg and 5,0rpg. He seemed a bit miffed that after a potent season like that, he didn’t get more rewarding offers than just from mid major schools. He decided to take a post senior year at Notre Dame prep school in Fitchburg, Mass. That decision wasn’t the best as he got no offers after that and had to go the JUCO route. He played at Ranger College (JUCO) playing 38 games averaging 14.3ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.8apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 59.6%, 3PT: 46.9%, FT: 77.2%. Juco is often exactly the best medicine for adversary that was faced before getting there. ‘I still don’t remember why I actually went there. The school had gone something like 0/26 the season before. Something just told me it was right and it turned out being a very important decision. I was in the middle of nowhere and the experience really humbles you. Coach Billy Gillespie was crucial in me going there. JUCO made me tough. You see that guys who are overseas and played JUCO have what it takes to play’, said Kris Clyburn. He then would go on to play for the University Of Nevada-Las Vegas from 2016-2019 playing a total of 93 NCAA games. In his freshman season he averaged 7.1ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 41.3%, 3PT: 30.5%, FT: 69.0% and scored in double figures 12 times and registered 3 double doubles. That season he had to suffer a brutal 49 point loss to top team Duke scoring 2 points in 23 minutes. He met future NBA players like Luke Kennard, Amile Jefferson and Jayson Tatum. This is an experience that he still thinks about today. ‘I actually was talking about that game to my dad a few weeks ago. I told him that game was an eyeopener for me. Going in I felt beneath players like that. After that game, I made sure to work harder so I would never have that feeling again’, stated Kris Clyburn. He netted 18 points against Fresno State. His second season was solid as he averaged 7.3ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 51.5%, 3PT: 32.4%, FT: 57.1%. In that season he scored in double figures in 9 games including 20 points against Northern Iowa and 19 points a piece against Nevada and Eastern Washington. His game took a big turn in his senior year as he averaged 13.9ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.2apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 50.3%, 3PT: 32.5%, FT: 76.0%. ‘My game didn’t have much change in my first 2 seasons because I was distracted and had a lack of confidence. I felt like the coaching staff didn’t believe in my game. But in the summer before my senior year, I went crazy in the gym. I made sure that there would be no doubt about my game. I just played my game and didn’t worry what others thought about it. I played with a short leash and let no one dictate my game’, remembered Kris Clyburn. He scored in double figures in 23 games including 25 points against New Mexico, 23 points against Nevada and 21 points a piece against Brigham Young and Boise State. ‘I enjoyed the BYU game, because we won it at the buzzer, but I did foul out. But my favorite game was beating New Mexico on the road’, said Kris Clyburn.

The Detroit native who lists Jordan, Kobe, Lebron and Steph Curry on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore began his professional career in the summer playing 2 NBA games for the Milwaukee Bucks. He then went overseas and played his rookie season with Enea Astoria Bydgoszcz (Poland-EBL) playing 21 games averaging 15.3ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 49.2%, 3PT: 29.4%, FT: 71.1%. Sometimes it is difficult for Americans to come overseas and adjust well on and off the court, but on the court he needed no adjustment period. But off the court, the whole experience got some time getting used to. ‘My wake up call was when we left the airport to drive 2 hours to my new home. I looked around and understood I was really in a different place. It just didn’t feel real when I got to my apartment. Poland just sounded weird to me. It was really a grind that first year’, commented Kris Clyburn. He scored in double figures 18 times and had some massive games against Enea Zastal Zielona Gora scoring 35 points and 26 points against Anwil. In his second pro season he took on a new challenge playing with Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus-Premier League/VTB League). This was by far his most productive season as a pro as he won 2 titles and was consistent in 3 competitions. He averaged 16.1ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 54.9%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 65.8% in the VTB league, 13.9ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.5apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 53.6%, 3PT: 44.7%, FT: 82.4% in the Belarusian Premier League and 11.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 1.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 45.8%, 3PT: 41.9%, FT: 43.8% in the Basketball Champions League. ‘The Belarusian league was like playing with little kids. Winning the titles were great. I could of moved to the Euroleague the next season as there was interest from Maccabi Tel Aviv. But they then chose another player. I could of played better in the BCL which could of brought me to the main stage’, expressed Kris Clyburn. He had some strong games in the BCL scoring 19 points a piece against Balkan and Cholet and in the highly touted VTB league exploded for 33 points against PBC Astana, had 26 points against Enisey and 22 points against Lok Kuban. He also had a solid 15 points against top Euroleague team CSKA Moscow, but lost by 27 points against his brother. ‘I remember that game well. I started off well with like 12 points at half-time. Then they came out with their starting 5 in the third quarter and held us to 2 points and we were down by 30 points’, added Kris Clyburn. In his third season he split time with with Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion (Israel-Winner League) averaging 12.3ppg, 5.7rpg, 2FGP: 42.7%, 3FGP: 28.6%, FT: 79.3%, in Jan.’22 moved to Buyukcekmece Basket Basketball Kulubu (Turkey-BSL) averaging 9.0ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 55.4%, 3PT: 15.0%, FT: 73.1%. The stats seem deceiving, but all in all, it wasn’t one his better seasons as his three didn’t fall in Turkey. ‘It was definitely a learning experience. It was tough playing through adversary.
I felt like my time in Israel was mediocre. The coach was fired and we were losing. Then I came to Turkey and wasn’t one of the main guys. It was tough getting minutes here and there and spot shots’, remembered Kris Clyburn. He did have some good games scoring 29 points against Gilboa Galil, 24 points against Haifa and in Turkey netted 22 points against Ayfon. He did have one positive experience beating Euroleague champion Efes 90-89. ‘That was a major win for us as we were fighting to stay in the league. We needed that win badly. Plus we won at their place’, said Kris Clyburn.
The explosive scorer who lists Lebron James as his GOAT came to Germany in 2022-2023 and joined the SYNTAINICS MBC Weissenfels (Germany-BBL) playing 29 games averaging 17.4ppg, 5.1rpg, 2.2apg, Steals-1 (2.0spg), FGP: 57.9%, 3PT: 37.7%, FT: 80.9%. Even if the team lost a lot, he had another great personal season and helped save the team on the last game day with a huge 79-69 win over the Hakro Merlins where he scored 14 points and grabbed 6 boards. ‘That was a special game. One of our fans who had cancer spoke to us. We took her speech as motivation. Plus my family was there. It was a great day and we got the win’, stated Kris Clyburn. Despite finishing in 16th place, it was somewhat of a mystery why a team with so much talent could finish so low. ‘I think that we could have been a playoff team. We lost 7 games in a row in March and April that hurt us. We had to play against Bamberg, Alba Berlin and Munich. We understood then that we had to do something to stay in the league. We had a great team and were in many games, but we just fell apart at the wrong time’, stressed Kris Clyburn. He had very special teammates that he will never forget like veteran Tremmel Darden who was still active at age 40 and former BBL MVP and rebound king John Bryant who was still active at age 36. ‘Tremmel is a great guy and you saw every game how athletic he was. He could do so many things others couldn’t do. You really saw why he was able to paly so long. It is always good to have a guy like that on the team. John was a great player. I always remember my brother Will saying that John was a monster’, said Kris Clyburn. He had a great BBL season averaging 17/5/2/2 stats. He really made a major turnaround with his three point shooting as it rose from 15% in Turkey to 37% in Germany. ‘It was my best season as a pro. It was tough getting my confidence back. My major focus coming into the Germany season was not to shoot that bad again. A major focus was on my shooting and I really worked hard getting shots up’, commented Kris Clyburn. He scored in double figures in 26 games including scoring 33 points against Heidelberg, 31 points against Chemnitz, 26 points against Oldenburg and 25 points against Wurzburg.

He once again has taken on a new challenge and took his talent to France to play for BCM Gravelines Dunkerque (Pro A). For him personally it was a great feeling being able to be secured early in the summer instead of waiting around for the call from a team like last summer when it didn’t happen until September. ‘France is another good step forward. I’m ready to attack new obstacles’, warned Kris Clyburn. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he will have for his new team. The 198cm forward who has been compared to Tayshaun Prince showed in Germany once again that you could have versatility as his middle name and it won’t be any different in France. ‘My dad always preached to me not to be one dimensional. He always told me that defense and rebounding will keep you on the floor. I remember having a terrible game in college where I was something like 0/14, but I also had 14 rebounds that helped us win the game. I just do the little things that helps me stay on the floor’, said Kris Clyburn. One part of his game could really blossom in France as he really will focus on it this summer. ‘I want to improve my playmaking. I will work on my ball handling and finding the open man. I have been used to being the dominant man in many places I have played, but this season I will be on a better team and have more guys that will contribute. I will play more like a 2-1’, warned Kris Clyburn. He suffered a tough knee injury before the season and his rehabing paid off as he returned on December 6th and helped his team defeat Manisa in a Fiba Europe Cup game as he contributed 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks. One thing is for sure, the Euroleague will always be flowing around in his thoughts. Perhaps one day he will finally face brother Will in the Euroleague, but until then he will have no problem having him in the stands again in France as his good luck charm.