Tyler Lamb

{{Short description|Thai-American professional basketball player}}

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Tyler Lamb

| image = Tyler Lamb (6707067183) (cropped).jpg

| image_size = 250

| caption = Lamb with UCLA in 2012

| position = Small forward

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 207

| league = B.League

| team = Kumamoto Volters

| number = 8

| nationality = American / Thai

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|5|16}}

| birth_place = West Covina, California, U.S.

| high_school = Mater Dei
(Santa Ana, California)

| college =

UCLA (2010–2013)
Long Beach State (2013–2015)

| draft_year = 2015

| career_start = 2015

| years1 = 2015–2016

| team1 = Hi-Tech

| years2 = 2016–2018

| team2 = Hong Kong Eastern

| years3 = 2018

| team3 = Hi-Tech

| years4 = 2018

| team4 = Tycoon

| years5 = 2019–2020

| team5 = Mono Vampire

| years6 = 2022

| team6 = TaiwanBeer HeroBears

| years8 = 2024

| team8 = Hi-Tech

| years9 = 2024–present

| team9 = Kumamoto Volters

| highlights =

TPBL Best Shooting guard (2019)
TBL Champion (2018)
ABL Champion (2017)
ABL ASEAN Heritage Import MVP (2017)
Second-team All-Big West (2014)

| medal_templates = {{MedalSport | Men's basketball}}

{{MedalCountry | {{THA}} }}

}}

Tyler Lamb (born May 16, 1991) is a Thai-American professional basketball player for the Kumamoto Volters of the B.League. He played college basketball for UCLA and Long Beach State. Tyler began his professional career in his mother's homeland, Thailand.

Early life

Lamb was born in West Covina, California. His mother, Cherry, is Thai, and his father, Terry, is American. Lamb attended Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.{{cite news|first=Joaquin M.|last=Henson|title=Thais a different team with Lamb|date=August 19, 2017|newspaper=The Philippine Star|url=https://www.philstar.com/sports/2017/08/19/1730979/thais-different-team-lamb|access-date=March 22, 2022}}

College career

Lamb started his college career for the UCLA Bruins in 2010.{{cite web |title=SRCBB |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tyler-lamb-1.html |website=sports-reference}} After three years, he transferred to Long Beach State.{{cite web |title=2014-15 Men's Basketball Roster |url=https://longbeachstate.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=390 |website=longbeachstate}} After starting all but one game for the Bruins in 2011–12, he was concerned about not receiving enough playing time with Larry Drew II, Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Norman Powell in the mix at guard for UCLA.{{cite web|first=David|last=Wharton|title=Tyler Lamb decided to leave UCLA after talking with Ben Howland|date=November 26, 2012|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2012-nov-26-la-sports-lamb-decided-to-leave-ucla-20121126-story.html|access-date=November 14, 2022}} He averaged 5.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in his career with the Bruins.{{cite news|first=Raphielle|last=Johnson|title=UCLA transfer Tyler Lamb a difference-maker in his Long Beach State debut|date=December 20, 2013|work=NBC Sports|url=https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2013/12/20/ucla-transfer-tyler-lamb-a-difference-maker-in-his-long-beach-state-debut/|access-date=November 14, 2022}} In his first season with Long Beach State in 2013–14, Lamb was named second-team all-conference in the Big West Conference.{{cite web|first=Robert|last=Morales|title=Long Beach State prepares for rival Fullerton in Big West tourney; Mike Caffey named first-team All-Big West|date=March 10, 2014|work=Long Beach Press-Telegram|url=https://www.presstelegram.com/2014/03/10/long-beach-state-prepares-for-rival-fullerton-in-big-west-tourney-mike-caffey-named-first-team-all-big-west/|access-date=November 14, 2022}}

Professional career

Lamb signed with the TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League on February 23, 2022.{{cite news |last1=Yen |first1=William |title=P. LEAGUE+ & T1 LEAGUE/Basketball's 'Beast Master' is back |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/sports/202202250009 |access-date=5 March 2022 |agency=Central News Agency |date=25 February 2022}}

After playing for two clubs in Asia, Lamb signed a player contract with the Kumamoto Volters on July 29, 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-29 |title=タイラー・ラム選手 2024-25シーズン契約(新規)合意のお知らせ |url=https://www.volters.jp/news/detail/id=15820 |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=熊本ヴォルターズ |language=ja}} The preseason match held on September 7 saw him start a team-high 15 points.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-07 |title=STARLUX Airlines presents FRIENDSHIP MATCH 2024 vs台湾ビールレオパーズ試合結果 |url=https://www.volters.jp/news/detail/id=15875 |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=熊本ヴォルターズ |language=ja}} Lamb was injured in the game on November 2, 2024, and placed on the injured list on the 12th.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-12 |title=#8 タイラー・ラム選手インジュアリーリスト登録のお知らせ |url=https://www.volters.jp/news/detail/id=16060 |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=熊本ヴォルターズ |language=ja}} Lamb was removed from injured list on December 27, 2024,{{Cite web |date=2024-12-27 |title=#8 タイラー・ラム選手インジュアリーリスト抹消のお知らせ |url=https://www.volters.jp/news/detail/id=16180 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=熊本ヴォルターズ |language=ja}} and returned play the next game. On January 18, 2025, Lamb participated in the 'B.LEAGUE ASIA RISING STAR GAME', scoring 8 points and recording 6 assists.{{Cite web |title=B.LEAGUE ASIA RISING STAR GAME 2025/01/18 B.LEAGUE RISING STARS VS B.LEAGUE ASIA ALL-STARS |url=https://www.bleague.jp/game_detail/?ScheduleKey=503880&tab=4 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=B.LEAGUE（Bリーグ）公式サイト |language=ja}} However, from January 25 to March 15, Lamb was removed from the roster due to conditioning issues. Lamb returned to action on March 22 and appeared in every remaining game until the team was eliminated in the playoff semifinals.{{Cite web |title=タイラー・ラム |url=https://www.bleague.jp/roster_detail/?PlayerID=51000427 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=B.LEAGUE（Bリーグ）公式サイト |language=ja}}

National team career

In 2017, Tyler Lamb played for the Thai national team at the Southeast Asian Games, where they won bronze. The following year, he made his FIBA debut in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SEABA Pre-Qualifier.{{cite web |title=Tyler Lamb to lead in FIBA debut with Thailand |url=http://www.fiba.basketball/asiacup/2021/pre-qualifiers/seaba/news/tyler-lamb-to-lead-in-fiba-debut-with-thailand |website=FIBA.basketball|date=25 June 2018 }} The national team advanced to the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

In 2019, he rejoined the national team for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games men's basketball tournament.