Known as an American basketball player who plays for the Lithuanian Basketball League, Nigel Hayes has been signed to play for Zalgris Kaunar since June 2019. Hayes first began his basketball career in high school, when he earned Big Ten 6th man of the year and was named the Big Ten All-Freshman team. On the Badgers national runner up squad, Hayes was the third leading scorer and was again named third team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. After that, during his junior year, Hayes was again named to the first team All-Big Ten after having led the Badgers in scoring 15.7 points per game, 3.0 assists, free-throw attempts and finished second in rebounds. In his senior year, Hayes averaged 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. His success led him to be named Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Hayes holds a degree in business finance and investment banking. Hayes joined the New York Knicks for the 2017 NBA Summer League. He later was assigned to the Westchester Knicks affiliate squade for the NBA G League for the majority of the season. Hayes also signed a 10 day contract with Los Angeles Lakers in January 2018. Two months later, Hayes signed another 10 day contract, however this time with the Toronto Raptors. After his debut for Toronto Raptors, Hayes scored 6 points on 2 3-point field goals. He was offered another 10 day contract, however while on his second contract, Hayes got assigned to the Raports 905. Again, Hayes returned to the Westchester Knicks as he did not receive a rest-of-season offer from Raptors. Hayes also played for Sacramento Kings for the 2017-2018 season. He signed a contract with Galatasaray of the Turkish Basketbol Super Ligi.
