Ty Lawson

Lawson in a game for the Nuggets in 2011.

Due to concerns of his height and his often-sprained ankle, Lawson slipped to 18th in the 2009 NBA draft, where he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, they had already drafted two point guards, making Lawson expendable. This gave the Denver Nuggets an opportunity to get a quality player as they traded their future draft pick to Minnesota in exchange for Lawson.[10][11] Lawson served as a backup to Chauncey Billups for one and a half seasons until Billups was traded to the New York Knicks on February 22, 2011 as part of a trade which also sent star forward Carmelo Anthony to New York.[12] On April 9, 2011, Lawson became the first player in NBA history to make his first 10 three-point attempts to start a game. He went 10-of-11 from behind three-point range and finished the game with a career-high 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.[13]

On August 15, 2011, Lawson signed a one-year contract with Žalgiris Kaunas. The deal included an out-clause that allowed him to return to the Denver Nuggets when the 2011 NBA lockout ended.[14][15] Lawson played seven Euroleague games during his stint in Kaunas, averaging 7.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists.[16]

In 2012–13, the Nuggets finished with a franchise-best record of 57-25 and earned the third seed in the Western Conference. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors. Lawson led Denver in both scoring and assists for the series with averages of 21.3 points and 8.0 assists.[17]

In 2013–14, with Danilo Gallinari out injured with a torn ACL, Lawson led the team in points, assists and steals.[18]

The Nuggets' 2014–15 season took a turn for the worse with their record dropping to a dismal 30-52, good for the ninth-worst win–loss record in Nuggets history, and had a coaching change mid-season with Brian Shaw being replaced by Melvin Hunt. Despite the turmoil, Lawson managed to have a solid season with 15.2 points and a career-high 9.6 assists per game. His 720 total assists broke the Nuggets' single-season assists record of 714 held by Nick Van Exel.[19]

On July 20, 2015, the Nuggets traded Lawson and a 2017 second round draft pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, a 2016 first round draft pick, and cash considerations.[20] He made his debut for the Rockets in the team's season opener against his former team the Denver Nuggets on October 28, recording 12 points and 6 assists as a starter in a 105–85 loss.[21] He started in the Rockets' first 11 games of the season under coach Kevin McHale. However, after McHale was fired and J. B. Bickerstaff was named interim, Bickerstaff moved Lawson to the bench for the team's November 18 game against the Portland Trail Blazers.[22] On December 18, he was suspended for two games by the NBA based on his guilty plea in November for driving while impaired and a lane usage violation after leaving a party in Denver in January 2015.[23] On January 7, 2016, he was suspended for a further three games by the NBA for driving under the influence of alcohol in July 2015.[24] On March 1, he was waived by the Rockets in a buyout agreement.[25]

On March 7, 2016, Lawson signed with the Indiana Pacers.[26] He made his debut for the Pacers later that night at home against the San Antonio Spurs, managing just five minutes of action before spraining his left ankle during the second quarter, which ruled him out for the rest of the game.[27] He missed the following five games before returning to action on March 21 against the Philadelphia 76ers.[28]

On August 31, 2016, Lawson signed with the Sacramento Kings.[29] On April 11, 2017, in his 551st NBA game, Lawson recorded his first career triple-double with 22 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in a 129–104 win over the Phoenix Suns.[30]

On August 9, 2017, Lawson signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association.[31] In 46 games for Shandong, he averaged 25.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

On April 12, 2018, Lawson signed with the Washington Wizards for the 2018 NBA Playoffs.[32] Lawson's Wizards debut came in game 2 of the first round series against the Toronto Raptors, where he had 14 points and 8 assists in a Wizards defeat. Washington would go on to lose in six games, with Lawson averaging 5.8 points and 3.0 assists in 19.2 minutes per game.

On December 15, 2018, Lawson returned and signed with the Shandong Golden Stars.[33][34]

In September 2019, Lawson signed with the Fujian Sturgeons for the 2019–20 Chinese Basketball Association season.[35] He had 22 points in the season opener.[36]

On September 19, 2020, Lawson was cut by the Sturgeons over "inappropriate" social media posts detrimental to the team.[37]

On December 30, 2020, Lawson signed with Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League.[38] However, due to travel issues, he was unable to join the team until May 2021. He practiced with the team to finish then 2020–21 season and re-signed for the 2021–22 season,[39] but after just one Greek Cup game in September 2021, he parted ways with Kolossos Rodou.[40][41]

In November 2021, Lawson signed with US Monastir of the Championnat National A.[42] He left the team prior to the Basketball Africa League tournament.[43]

In February 2023, Lawson signed with Gaiteros del Zulia of the Venezuelan Basketball League.[44] On April 4, 2023 Lawson was fired from Gaiteros del Zulia allegedly for indiscipline[45] even though he was having an excellent season with the team, effectively leading every single game. However, his off-court behavior violated team rules and organization ethics, leading to his dismissal.