Melbourne Farewells Highlight Machine Tucker

Melbourne United excitement machine Rayjon Tucker’s departure from the club has been confirmed, with the explosive wing having signed a deal with Italian club Reyer Venezia.

Tucker arrived in Melbourne having most recently played 10 games for the Milwaukee Bucks in season 2021-22. Prior to that, he had also represented Denver, Philadelphia and Utah in the NBA.

He also played under now departed Sydney coach Chase Buford at G-League side Wisconsin – the affiliate of the Bucks.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With the news that Rayjon Tucker has signed with <a href="https://twitter.com/REYER1872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@REYER1872</a> in Italy, we want to thank Tuck for everything he contributed to our club through NBL23. A fan-favourite on and off the court, it was a pleasure having him with us for a season.<a href="https://twitter.com/th3flighttuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@th3flighttuck</a> <a href="https://t.co/rkrn68BLnT">pic.twitter.com/rkrn68BLnT</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1680722361220485120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The high-flyer averaged 18.1 points per game across NBL23 in a season that saw United’s guard rotation beset by injury issues, and he was a crucial part of Melbourne’s late-season resurgence that saw them miss out on post-season basketball on percentage alone.

Melbourne is yet to announce any import signings for NBL24, but have made huge moves in the free agency market with the re-signings of Matthew Dellavedova and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, and the signing of young gun Luke Travers from Perth.

United will open the NBL season on Thursday, September 28 against local rivals South East Melbourne.