If your hope was that guard Miles Byrd would withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to San Diego State next season, the last two days were not a good development.
Byrd opted into the two 5-on-5 scrimmages at the NBA’s pre-draft combine in Chicago before scouts, coaches and general managers from all 30 teams and showed why he was among the 75 players invited despite his offensive struggles with the Aztecs in the back half of last season.
Byrd acquitted himself well in both 40-minute games at Wintrust Arena, following an 11-point performance Wednesday with a stat-stuffing 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks on Thursday afternoon. He also mitigated the only iffy part of his combine — a subpar performance in shooting drills earlier in the week — with a combined 5 of 11 behind the NBA arc over the two games.
One of those misses was from well behind the line in the fourth quarter Thursday. But he charged into the lane, swiped the rebound and fed a teammate for a corner 3.
“I know his team is losing right now,” analyst Sean Farnham said on the ESPN+ telecast, “but I do think that he has stood out and played out exactly the way he wanted this afternoon.”
SDSU assistant coach Dave Velasquez attended the scrimmages in person and had this to say about the redshirt sophomore guard’s performance:
“Miles showed the best version of who Miles Byrd is. He’s a do-it-all guy. His stat line was very efficient, and he was able to impact the game on both ends of the floor with blocks, steals, assists. He shot a good percentage from 3. He did a great job of playing within himself but at the same time showing how impactful he can be.
“At this NBA level, where not every play is called for a guy, you really get to see who has really good instincts, who has a great feel for the game, and it was fun to know that Miles knows how to play the game.”
Byrd admittedly entered the combine “on the fence” about whether to stay in the draft or return to SDSU, largely because he had not received enough feedback from NBA teams. He will get some now and has until May 28 to stay in the draft or withdraw if he wants to retain his collegiate eligibility.
His measurements were a mixed bag: only 6-foot-4¾ without shoes and 181.8 pounds after being listed as 6-7, 190 at SDSU, but an impressive 6-10 wingspan and 8-6½ standing reach. The 5¼-inch differential between his height and wingspan ranked among the best in this year’s draft class.
Next came four shooting drills that incorporated midrange jumpers and 3s. He ranked in the bottom half of the 68 players who participated: 36th, 41st, 45th and 56th.
But then came the scrimmages. In 51 minutes over two games, he had 24 points, eight assists (against two turnovers), five steals and four blocks. He was active on defense, deflected passes, ran the floor, found teammates.
After shooting 4 of 7 overall and 3 of 6 behind the arc Wednesday, he was asked in the postgame interview area what he hoped to prove.
“That I’m a good shooter,” Byrd said. “I don’t think numbers really showed that, especially later in the year. My efficiency dropped in the second half of the season. I wanted to show people that I’m a good shooter, I’m a confident shooter, and I can come out here and compete with anybody.”
The most common question at the combine is player comps. Byrd said he’s been watching film of 6-7 Dyson Daniels, a third-year guard who averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and a league-high 3.0 steals per game for the Atlanta Hawks this season.
“Guys who are secondary playmakers, defend the ball well, get a lot of deflections,” Byrd said. “I think I have the opportunity to be like that in the league.”
Byrd will now crisscross the country for small group workouts at NBA team facilities over the 10 days before the withdrawal deadline. Presumably, those will be teams with picks in the early to middle of the second round.
The biggest factor in his decision, however, likely will be what sort of contractual commitment a franchise is prepared to make, since only the 30 first-round picks receive fully guaranteed, multiyear deals. It probably would take a pledge of a guaranteed contract in the second round for him to stay in the draft, as opposed to a two-way deal (allowing movement between the senior team and its G League affiliate) that could pay up to $636,000 but is not guaranteed.
In the latter scenario, spending the year developing in familiar college surroundings with guaranteed NIL money might be preferable to the anonymity of the G League and uncertainty of the two-way contract.
“It’s a win-win either way,” Velasquez said. “It’s great for our program to add another player to the NBA, another guy who has waited his turn at San Diego State and was a redshirt and is now given that opportunity. We also know we’d be losing not just an all-conference caliber player but an All-American type player.
“When you sit on a family’s couch and you build this relationship where they become family to you, you want their dreams to become reality. Miles is in a situation to have that happen. Whatever Miles decides, we will be 100% excited for him either way.”
Originally Published: May 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM PDT
