After not hearing his name called in the NBA draft, Missouri Tiger guard Tamar Bates signed an un-drafted free agent contract quickly after.

Bates will join the Denver Nuggets on a two-way contract.

Bates joined the Tigers through the transfer portal going into the 2023-24 season and quickly became the primary bright spot in an otherwise dark season.

The Bradenton, Florida, product was a four-star recruit coming out of high school when he committed to Indiana, but his two seasons with the Hoosiers didn’t quite live up to expectations as he averaged just 3.9 and 6.1 points per game, respectively, in his freshman and sophomore years.

Then came the transition to the Tigers.

He took a spot in the starting lineup after a handful of games and played in all 32 of the Tigers’ matchups on the way to averaging a career-high 13.5 points per game.

He shot 49.5 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from 3 and set a new school record with a 92.6 percent rate on free throws.

He only got better in SEC play his first year, boosting his points per game mark to 16.4 from Game 11 onward.

After suffering through a winless conference season, Bates decided to stick with Missouri coach Dennis Gates for his senior year, and had another successful season.

He was the only Tiger to appear in all 34 games the Tigers played, starting every one of them and scoring 13.3 points per game. He shot 50.8 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from 3 and re-set his own school record from the free throw line, where he hit 94.6 percent of his attempts.

That free-throw rate ranked him first in the country.

He put up a statement game in the Tigers’ first Border War win since the revival of the series, scoring 29 points while poking away five steals.

He scored in double figures in 25 games, including five 20-point performances, while recording his 1,000th career point against Arkansas on Jan. 18.

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