Killian Hayes

Killian Hayes

Killian Hayes is a French-American professional basketball player. He plays for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. Hayes won the gold medal and earned most valuable player honors with France at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship. He led his team to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

About Killian Hayes in brief

Summary Killian HayesKillian Hayes is a French-American professional basketball player who plays for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. Hayes was born in Lakeland, Florida but grew up in France due to his father’s professional career. He played for Cholet Basket at the youth level. Hayes won the gold medal and earned most valuable player honors with France at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship. He led his team to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. In 2019–20, he moved to Germany to play for Ulm. Hayes played in the Basketball Without Borders camp during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, where he was the second-youngest participant. He is the son of DeRon Hayes, who was playing basketball in the American Basketball Association at the time of his son’s birth. Hayes watched highlights of basketball games on YouTube, drawing inspiration from basketball player Dwyane Wade and AND1 mixtapes, to learn new moves.

He was named league MVP after the regular season and helped his team win the Trophée du Futur, being named MVP of the competition. Hayes turned down an opportunity to join INSEP, a prestigious sports institute in Paris, upon his parents’ guidance. He signed a three-year professional contract with Cholet before the 2018–19 season, after considering various other European clubs. Hayes made his debut with the Cholet senior team on 21 October 2017 at 16 years, two months and 24 days of age, playing two minutes in a loss to Nanterre 92 in the LNB Pro A. In November, he recorded his first double-double with 11 points and 11 assists in a Loss to Alba Bologna. Two weeks later, he played his first EuroCup game, finishing with eight points, nine assists and three steals.