UCLA’s all-time leading 3-point shooter understood there was a chance he wouldn’t hear his name called during last week’s NBA Draft.
Bryce Alford knew he had options should such a scenario unfold.
In a sport evolving into a shooter’s paradise with the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors as the frequently used yardstick, the 6-foot-3 guard has secured his next roster spot with, fittingly, those same Warriors.
In July, Alford plays for Golden State’s NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas. It’s an opportunity for the 22-year-old to make a name for himself and to prove a point to the 30 franchises who didn’t draft him.
“I worked out for eight NBA teams. The (Indiana) Pacers were one of them,” said Alford, who was in town last week to help his father, Bruins coach Steve Alford, run his annual basketball camp at Franklin College.
“(Being undrafted) isn’t really a setback. It can almost be, I don’t want to say better, but there’s just different advantages to going undrafted. You’re able to weigh your options and pick what you think is the best fit.”
Bryce Alford finished his Bruins’ career with 1,922 career points, fifth all-time in UCLA’s rich history behind Don MacLean (1988-92), Lew Alcindor (1966-69), Jason Kapono (1999-2003) and Reggie Miller (1983-87).
His 329 made triples bested Kapono’s previous standard by a dozen.
Alford certainly has the game to make a good living playing professionally in a foreign country such as Greece, Argentina, Italy, China, Turkey or Germany.
In the meantime, he’s got youth, a lifelong love of the sport and a surname synonymous with perimeter marksmanship in his corner.
“My agent is telling me that the majority of people here think I’m an NBA player with NBA skill shooting the basketball,” Alford said.
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Bryce Alford
Age: 22
Family: Parents Steve and Tanya; brother Kory, 25; sister Kayla, 19
High school: La Cueva, New Mexico (2013)
College: UCLA (2017)
Major: Political Science
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