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Tommy Bruner (born April 22, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Denver Pioneers, the USC Upstate Spartans and the Jacksonville Dolphins.
| No. 55 – Santa Cruz Warriors | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | NBA G League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 22, 2001 Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Gray Collegiate Academy (Columbia, South Carolina) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2024: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2024–present |
| Career history | |
| 2024–present | Santa Cruz Warriors |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Bruner attended Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, South Carolina.[1] He led Gray to back-to-back South Carolina Class AA state championships.[2] As a senior, he averaged 16.2 points per game and was named the Class AA Player of the Year.[2]
USC Upstate (2019–2021)
Bruner committed to play college basketball at the University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate).[3] As a freshman in 2019–20 he averaged 14 points per game, good for second-best on the team, and was named a freshman All-American.[4] He was the Big South Conference's player of the week twice and later selected to the Big South All-Freshman Team.[2] In 2020–21, Bruner's sophomore season, he led USC Upstate in points per game (13.6) and total assists (85).[2] At the end of the season he was named as an honorable mention to the All-Big South Team.[2]
Jacksonville (2021–2022)
Bruner transferred to Jacksonville prior to the start of his redshirt sophomore season.[5] He appeared in just 13 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury.[6] He averaged 8.8 points per game.[5]
Denver (2022–2024)
After spending just one season at Jacksonville, Bruner looked to transfer. He felt an instant connection with Denver; he said "It was such a family vibe. That’s when I really knew I was in the right place."[7] During his redshirt junior year of 2022–23, Bruner averaged then-career highs of 15.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game.[8] He helped the Pioneers start the season with an 8–1 record, which is a program record through the first nine games.[8] While the team success was not sustained over the course of the season, Bruner's personal production was, and he was voted to the Summit League's All-Newcomer team.[8] He received an honorable mention nod on the All-Summit League Team.[8] Bruner also surpassed the career 1,000-point milestone on December 7, 2022 against Sacramento State.[2]
In 2023–24, Bruner was named to the All-Summit League First Team on March 7, 2024.[9]
Santa Cruz Warriors (2024–present)
After going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, Bruner joined the Rip City Remix on October 28, 2024,[10] but was waived on November 5.[11] Six days later, he signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors.[12]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | USC Upstate | 33 | 32 | 29.7 | .413 | .337 | .802 | 2.1 | 2.3 | .9 | .0 | 14.0 |
| 2020–21 | USC Upstate | 21 | 17 | 32.5 | .405 | .327 | .810 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .0 | 13.6 |
| 2021–22 | Jacksonville | 13 | 1 | 20.1 | .426 | .340 | .867 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.2 | .1 | 8.8 |
| 2022–23 | Denver | 32 | 32 | 34.6 | .402 | .333 | .844 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.1 | .0 | 15.9 |
| 2023–24 | Denver | 34 | 34 | 33.8 | .435 | .353 | .808 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.3 | .1 | 24.0 |
| Career | 133 | 116 | 31.4 | .418 | .341 | .818 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .1 | 16.4 | |
Bruner's sister Ashley played basketball at South Carolina and is retired from playing professionally overseas.[13] His older brother Jordan plays professional basketball.[14]
Bruner is also the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization he named "Be Different."[7] The name is an homage to a slogan he once used on t-shirts in high school to encourage kids to stand out.[7] Bruner said that his long-term plan for Be Different will focus on funding preschools to establish an encouraging base for kids.[7]
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