Tyler Tanner is Fully Focused on The NBA, But That Doesn't Rule Out Vanderbilt Basketball Return – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—-If Tyler Tanner has made one thing clear, it’s that he’s not just going through the NBA Draft process for feedback. He’s not going to do himself the disservice of going through it with the intention of removing his name. 
Tanner heads to Chicago for the NBA Combine with the intention of playing his way into a draft slot that allows him to bypass his junior season of college and to stay in the field. He’s working to make his lifelong dream of becoming an NBA player come true. 
The indication is that Tanner would be the most highly-compensated player in Vanderbilt basketball history if he returns to school, Vanderbilt has constructed its roster with Tanner’s potential presence in mind and if he returns, it has a chance to be a second-weekend team for the first time since he was a toddler. The case that Tanner’s stock could rise in a season if he returns is compelling, too. This is a historically strong guard class and the 2027 draft will likely be weaker than this one. 
Forget all of that this week, though. 
Tanner has to do that while he participates in five-on-five action at the combine. If he’s going to have any chance of making a future in the NBA happen, he can’t look south to Nashville–or ahead to the decision that he will have to make in a few weeks. He has to treat this like he treated the NCAA Tournament. 
“The quote that I live by is ‘live where your feet are,’” Tanner told Vandy on SI during the NCAA tournament. “I've learned a lot about balance and everything through it. A lot of it's just leaning on the people close to me about it.”
As of now, Tanner’s feet aren’t at Vanderbilt–or in ESPN’s graphic. That’s why he talked the way he did about it when he spoke to Givony. It doesn’t mean that he won’t return to Vanderbilt, it doesn’t mean that he’ll even be leaning that way once the combine and workouts with teams are over. All it means is that he’s all in right now. 
Tanner’s comments aren’t concerning from a Vanderbilt perspective as much as they are logical within the context of his current situation. Tanner should be acting as if he’s heading to the NBA, until further notice–whether he believes he is or not. His agent is almost assuredly telling him to avoid showing any cards that indicate otherwise until he makes his final announcement. 
If Tanner does return, he’d get himself out of the best draft class–which is heavily centered on guardplay–in over a decade and would put himself in a more favorable position to reach the lottery. He’d also be able to play one more season in his hometown–which deserves more than one sentence of mention considering Tanner’s relationships in the area–and would make himself a rich man by doing so. 
Tanner has also dreamed of playing in the NBA, though. He’s dreamed of weeks like this happening for him. And he’s got a real chance to make sure that this week isn’t the only time he’s in a position like this. 
The idea that Tanner will be playing at Memorial Gymnasium a season from now isn’t all that hard to fathom, but he won’t say that. Instead, he’s saying things like this–and would be doing himself an injustice by saying anything to the contrary. 
"I'll do whatever it takes to stay in the draft. I'm not running from anything,” Tanner told Givony. “I'm pouring all my energy into getting drafted as high as I can. Fit is a big piece. I haven't communicated what would cause me to decide to come back. I'm already a better player now than I was at Vanderbilt."
Perhaps that last comment is the real takeaway here. 
Tanner averaged 19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range in 2025-26. That campaign represented a significant leap relative to his freshman season–in which he averaged 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Some of the knocks on Tanner, including size, won’t soon change, but a few things can. 
Watching Tanner was watching a near-pro play college basketball a season ago, but he can raise his stock by developing his in-between game, being more efficient from 3-point range in league play and putting on significant weight. 
But Tanner shouldn’t be thinking about conference play, or NCAA Tournament play, or Nashville at all for that matter. This is solely about what he can do when he’s wearing that black uniform, testing and playing pickup with a number of NBA executives watching in the stands. 
It’s nothing personal or anything about Vanderbilt, it’s just the nature of the beast these days. It’s business, and Tanner has to consider that. 
"My goal is to play in the NBA. Always has been since I was a kid,” Tanner said Sunday. “I'm fully focused on making it. This is another opportunity to show what I can do. The way I make those around me better and raise the level of my teammates. I've always built my game on that."
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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