By MATT PIKE
A former Missouri Western State University guard, who spent the final season of his career at the University of North Alabama, is getting his shot at the NBA.
Taye Fields signed an NBA summer league contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this month. Fields spent three seasons with the Griffons before transferring to play for the Lions in his senior season. He becomes the first UNA player to sign with or be drafted by an NBA franchise since UNA Hall of Famer Otis Boddie, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980.
In his three seasons at MoWest, Fields averaged 10.1 point per game and 2.6 assists per game. In his junior season with the Griffons, he helped as a team leader with 12.8 points per game and 3.9 assists per game while pulling down 275 rebounds. After transferring, in his senior season, Fields helped guide UNA to its first-ever regular season conference championship in any sport at the Division I level in 2025, as the UNA men's basketball program finished with a 24-11 record and a trip to the National Invitational Tournament.
While at UNA, Fields won the 2024-25 Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Year, earned second team all-conference honors and was named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team. He ranked second in the ASUN and 32nd nationally with 300 rebounds and was the only player in the league to rank top three in both steals and blocks. After graduating from the program, Fields signed a professional contract with the Hefte Helfen Bulls in Austria's Basketball Superliga (BSL).
In his rookie professional season, Fields won the BSL Defensive Player of the Year award and won the Finals MVP award. He was a regular starter for the Bulls, leading them to the Austrian Championship, averaging 12.7 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists per game.
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