Killian Hayes is a French professional basketball player for ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga. Standing, he mainly plays the point guard position. The son of an American basketball player, Hayes was born in Lakeland, Florida but grew up in France due to his father's professional career. From a young age, Hayes played with French club Cholet and excelled at the junior level. He debuted for Cholet's senior team at age 16 before receiving regular playing time in the following season. In 2019–20, he moved to Germany to play for ratiopharm Ulm. Hayes won the gold medal and earned most valuable player honors with France at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship. He led his team to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.
Early life and career
Hayes was born in Lakeland, Florida in the United States, in the same hospital as his father, DeRon Hayes, who was playing basketball in the American Basketball Association at the time. One year later, Hayes began living in Cholet, France after his father continued his career in the LNB Pro A, the country's top league. He played basketball from an early age, facing older opponents and often playing pick-up games in Lakeland and Orlando, Florida. Hayes watched highlights of basketball games on YouTube, drawing inspiration from basketball player Dwyane Wade and AND1 mixtapes, to learn new moves. He grew up playing for Cholet Basket, his father's former club, at the youth level. Although he wanted to play high school and college basketball in the United States, he remained in France upon the advice of his father, who had come from the American basketball system. In 2016, Hayes turned down an opportunity to join INSEP, a prestigious sports institute in Paris, upon his parents' guidance. He began playing for Espoirs Cholet in LNB Espoirs, the French under-21 league, in the 2016–17 season and was five to seven years younger than many of his opponents. In seven Espoirs games, Hayes averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 assists in 15.4 minutes per game. In April 2017, he recorded 13 points, seven assists and five steals, sharing most valuable player honors with Addison Patterson, at the Jordan Brand ClassicInternational Game. In the 2017–18 season, Hayes averaged 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game for Espoirs Cholet. He was named league MVP after the regular season and helped his team win the Trophée du Futur, being named MVP of the competition.
Professional career
Cholet (2017–2019)
Hayes made his debut with the Cholet senior team on 21 October 2017 at 16 years, two months and 24 days of age, playing two minutes in a loss to Nanterre 92 in the LNB Pro A. In February 2018, he played in the Basketball Without Borders camp during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, where he was the second-youngest participant. In his Pro A season finale on 15 May 2018, Hayes recorded 12 points and six assists in a win over Le Mans for his best performance of the season. Before the 2018–19 season, he signed a three-year professional contract with Cholet after considering various other European clubs. On 22 September 2018, after missing three weeks with back and toe injuries, Hayes scored 12 points in a loss to Strasbourg in his first appearance of the season. After his team was last place in its league early in the season, it parted ways with head coach Régis Boissié, who was replaced by Erman Kunter. Due to Cholet's struggles, Hayes initially believed he had "made a huge mistake by staying in Europe." At 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina in February, he competed at the Basketball Without Borders camp for the second time. On 30 May 2019, Hayes tallied a season-high 17 points, five rebounds and five steals in a loss to Élan Chalon. In 34 games, Hayes averaged 7.1 points and 3.1 assists per game.
ratiopharm Ulm (2019–present)
On 2 August 2019, Hayes signed a three-year contract with ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga, the top league in Germany, and the EuroCup. He debuted on 24 September, posting 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in a win over Rasta Vechta. Hayes played his first EuroCup game on 2 October, finishing with eight points, nine assists and three steals in a loss to Virtus Bologna. On 3 November, he recorded his first career double-double, with 11 points and 11 assists in a loss to Alba Berlin. Two weeks later, Hayes scored a career-high 24 points, along with five assists and three steals, in an 81–78 victory over Brose Bamberg. On 20 November, he tallied 12 points and 11 assists in a loss to Promitheas Patras, becoming the second-youngest player to ever register a double-double in the EuroCup, the youngest being Ricky Rubio. Hayes established a new career high in scoring on 18 December with 25 points, five three-pointers and five assists in a 96–92 defeat to Maccabi Rishon LeZion. He recorded 20 points and 10 assists in a 112–106 overtime loss to Alba Berlin on 11 February. When the BBL was suspended on March 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hayes returned to his family in Lakeland. On March 27, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.
Hayes primarily functions as a point guard. Listed at a height of, he possesses exceptional size for his position, although he is not regarded by analysts as an extraordinary athlete. Hayes is left-handed and rarely handles the ball with his right hand, which sometimes limits him. He models his offensive game after that of James Harden, another left-handed guard. Hayes has drawn the most praise for his playmaking repertoire. In February 2020, The Athletic writer Sam Vecenie said that "his vision is absolutely off the charts, and his ability to complete passes off of a live dribble with his left hand is unbelievable out of ball screens." Hayes thrives as a pick and roll ball-handler and is comfortable operating in a half-court offense. At the same time, he can be prone to turning the ball over. Hayes displays good shooting form and often attempts step-back jump shots, but his three-point shooting is considered a work in progress. He excels in shooting off the dribble as opposed to in catch-and-shoot situations. Hayes is an accurate free throw shooter and has good touch around the basket, with an advanced floater. He can guard shooting guards and smaller-sized small forwards. While his lack of lateral quickness prevents him from being a great perimeter defender, he is more effective as an off-ball and pick and roll defender.
Personal life
Hayes has an American father, DeRon Hayes, who played college basketball as a forward for the Penn State Nittany Lions in the early 1990s and left as one of the program's most prolific scorers. DeRon played professionally in France, Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine and Russia. He spent much of the prime years of his career with French clubs Cholet and SLUC Nancy. Hayes' mother, Sandrine, is a native of Cholet, France and is a former basketball player as well. His parents met because his mother was the sister of the girlfriend of his father's teammate.
