Flynn reflects on his record-setting NBA performance and his smooth transition to European basketball
From 50 in the NBA to leading Bahcesehir: Malachi Flynn’s journey
Player Spotlight
6 Mins read
Things in Europe are very new for Malachi Flynn, who is spending his first season on the Old Continent. Shifting his focus from an NBA career, the Bahcesehir College Istanbul point guard will always know that he can score. He proved that by scoring 50 points in an NBA game.
Flynn has already made a strong transition to the European game as he is averaging 18.6 points for the first-place team in Group A in the BKT EuroCup. The 27-year-old made 223 appearances in the NBA, and none left as big an impression as the game on April 3, 2024.
Flynn started the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Raptors and around the New Year was moved to the New York Knicks. Then, in early February 2024, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons. The 1.85-meter-tall guard totaled just 41 points in his first 12 games with the Pistons. He averaged 11.4 points over the next five and then came the road game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Flynn was given the starting nod and he started on fire. The Pistons were trailing the entire game and Flynn was just trying to keep the team close. He hit shot after shot and got one pass after the next and in the end, he poured in 50 points - albeit in a 121-113 loss. Flynn made 18 of 25 shots - including 5 of 9 from long range - to go with 9 of 12 free throws. He added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
“The biggest thing is I wish we would have won the game. It would have felt a lot better if we won and not had 50, but at the end of the day, it was a good performance,” said Flynn.
“It was just an ordinary day, honestly. I didn't know if I was going to play or not that day. I found out a couple of minutes before game time that I would. And the hoop just got bigger and bigger. I got some easy buckets, and before I knew it, it was there.”
He became the third player in NBA history to score 50 points as a reserve, joining Nick Anderson and Jamal Crawford.
“It was definitely something cool to look back on. And coming off the bench and doing it with Jamal Crawford was real cool because he's someone who I've looked up to in the area of Tacoma and Seattle,” said the Tacoma native.
Flynn, who was born and raised in Tacoma, said he had scored 46 points in a high school game but otherwise nothing close. He said it’s not a shock that he scored 50 points with players pouring in 60 and 70 points nowadays, and he knowing his scoring and shooting abilities.
But the performance does give him the confidence to know that he can do as much scoring as his team needs.
“I'm not saying I'm gonna just go out and score 50 all the time, but I think I'm capable of putting the ball in the hole or making plays for others. It's just sometimes about situation, opportunity, and I feel like I'm a player that can have those type of games.”
That was the best performance in his five-year career, which saw him bounce between the NBA and G League. After half a decade of going back and forth, Flynn was ready to give Europe a try. And he had those lessons of the unknown to help him be prepared for his season with Bahcesehir.
“I'd never been in Europe, so I am just kind of going with the flow, seeing how it is out here. The games are a little different and I am just going game by game and trying to learn the game, see the differences and then just continuing to be open to new things because it's a different league and a different style,” said Flynn, who has also averaged 4.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals through his first seven EuroCup games.
One teammate who has helped his adjustment is Matthew Mitchell, who Flynn played alongside in his final season at San Diego State University.
“It’s great. Even just off the court, being around Matt, being around him from San Diego State to now, nothing’s changed. He’s a great person to be around. And for me, my first year coming overseas, it made it a little easier just kind of knowing, being familiar with someone that I was already around and someone that I trust to give me the feel on things,” Flynn said.
Flynn’s first game in European competition was already a special one as Bahceshir was taking on U-BT Cluj-Napoca. And playing at the other end was Nathan Mensah, who played with Mitchell and Flynn at SDSU in 2019-20 and helped the team put together a 30-2 record.
“That year in San Diego was all special for us. We got to know each other really well. And then it’s crazy how life works. I end up teaming up with Matt five years later, and then our first game, we play Nate. So it’s just funny to see how life works,” Flynn said.
It’s all part of a new life experience like the one he is experiencing with Bahcesehir.