Now in his fifth NBA season, you won’t hear Bones Hyland’s name listed amongst the game’s best backcourt defenders. The lanky point guard has carved a role in the league via his ability to score.
That doesn’t mean that the 25-year-old can’t make improvements on the defensive end throughout his career. Asked by Dane Moore about how he has gotten better on defense, Hyland responded with,
"Man, I stunk at the beginning of my career, man. I ain't gonna lie. It's definitely something I've been hanging my hard hat on, just trying to get better defensively. I feel like that's a way to get yourself on the floor, too. So many guys in this league that are gifted at scoring, so you gotta be able to play both ends. You can’t just be in this league as a 1-dimensional player.”
It’s refreshing to hear the honesty from Bones about how he entered the league as a player. He’s not an elite defender, but he’s far from a turnstile.
Hyland's defensive improvements have helped him earn minutes
Standing at 6-foot-2, Hyland’s rather lanky body has been exploited by opposing offenses at times throughout his career. It’s a large reason that he fell out of favor with both the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers.
While his size certainly makes it rather difficult to become an All-Defensive level player, Hyland still possesses an elite wingspan (6-foot-9) relative to his height. As his career has progressed, Bones has learned to utilize his long limbs to at least make it more difficult for the opponent.
Hyland likely also realized that without defensive improvements, it would be hard to enter Chris Finch’s rotation. It’s a side of the court that Finch and the rest of the club pride themselves on. It’s why Rob Dillingham never found his footing in Minnesota, as he wasn’t reliable on that end, before the Wolves traded him to the Chicago Bulls.
Now, no defensive number is perfect, but the analytics seem to agree that Hyland has certainly improved since he first joined the league. His defensive box plus-minus is in the positive after substantially being in the negative his first three seasons. His defensive win shares per 48 minutes also clear those first three years. Those numbers also highlighted his improvements on defense last season, but he only played 239 total minutes in 2024-25.
The eye test also shows that he is no longer a defensive liability. It’s fun to watch a player like Bones become so impactful for the Timberwolves when prior to the season, there were no expectations of him having a large role.