It’s safe to say this Denver Nuggets front office member is a big fan of former Clemson standout Hunter Tyson.

During an interview on the Nuggets’ YouTube channel, executive Jim Clibanoff raved about Tyson, who joined the newly crowned NBA champions in an agreed-upon trade to Denver after he was selected 37th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of Thursday’s NBA Draft.

“I really like this guy. Great dude,” said Clibanoff, who enters his ninth season with the Nuggets front office and his first as the VP of Scouting after serving the previous eight seasons as the Director of Scouting.

“Came in for a pre-draft workout for us. We had breakfast. Interacted so well with everybody at the table with us. Came at the workout, hit like every shot. This is a guy who got better each year at Clemson.”

The 2023 ACC Skip Prosser Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his work on the court and in the classroom, Tyson earned first-team All-ACC honors after putting together a career year this past season when he averaged a team-best 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor, 40.5 percent from 3 and 83.8 percent at the free throw line.

Tyson collected 16 double-doubles, tying him for eighth all-time in Clemson history for a single season with Sharone Wright (1992-93). The Monroe, N.C. native became just the 17th player in Clemson history to eclipse 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career.

Clibanoff and the Nuggets believe Tyson is capable of manning both forward positions at the next level.

“He knows how to win, knows how to fit in,” Clibanoff said. “He’ll really help us stretch the floor. We think he can play the power forward and small forward spots. You’re going to love the guy’s intensity, work ethic. He averaged almost a double-double.”

Tyson became the highest Clemson draft pick since 2014 when K.J. McDaniels was selected 32nd by the Philadelphia 76ers. He became the first Tiger selected in the NBA Draft since Jaron Blossomgame in 2017.

Clibanoff is certainly happy to have Tyson in Denver.

“He’s got a lot of different components to his game that you’ll like, and he’ll learn how to fit in,” Clibanoff said. “He doesn’t have to be a high field-goal attempt guy. He’ll find his shots, he’ll pick his spots, and he’ll defend, too.”