Torrey Craig (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Upstate Spartans, where he was named an honorable mention All-American and Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2012.
After graduating from USC Upstate in 2014, Craig spent his first three professional seasons in Australia and New Zealand. He was named New Zealand NBL MVP and won a New Zealand NBL championship with the Wellington Saints, and earned NBL Best Defensive Player honors with the Brisbane Bullets. In 2017, he began his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets. He has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and Indiana Pacers.
College career
Craig went to the University of South Carolina Upstate from Great Falls High School in Great Falls, South Carolina, after winning 1A state Player of the Year honors in his senior season. As a freshman, Craig entered the starting lineup and quickly made an impact, averaging 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game en route to winning Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year honors.
In his sophomore season, Craig led the A-Sun in scoring at 16.4 points per game and helped the Spartans win 21 games. Craig was named the conference Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. As a junior, Craig once again led the A-Sun in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He was named first team All-Atlantic Sun.
Prior to the start of his senior season, Craig was named preseason Player of the Year in the Atlantic Sun. On February 10, 2014, Craig reached the 2,000 career point milestone with a 22-point game against East Tennessee State.
Professional career
Cairns Taipans (2014–2015) On August 6, 2014, Craig signed with the Cairns Taipans in Australia for the 2014–15 NBL season. He was named NBL Player of the Week for Round 9 after recording 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Adelaide 36ers on December 6. On December 19, he scored a season-high 28 points in a 90–86 loss to the 36ers. He helped the Taipans finish the season in first place with a 21–7 record before going on to reach the grand final series, where they lost 2–0 to the New Zealand Breakers. In 32 games, he averaged 8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Wellington Saints (2015) Following the 2014–15 NBL season, Craig joined the Wellington Saints for the 2015 New Zealand NBL season. On April 17, he scored 41 points against the Taranaki Mountainairs, ending the game one point shy of the all-time Saints scoring record, held by Mike Efevberha with 42. He was named Player of the Week for Round 3 after also recording 25 points and 14 rebounds against the Southland Sharks on April 18. He was again named Player of the Week for Round 11. He missed the end of the regular season with a knee injury. He helped the Saints reach the grand final, where they lost to the Sharks 72–68. For the season, he was named the NZNBL MVP and was named to the NZNBL All-Star Five. In 17 games, he averaged 20.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
Return to the Taipans (2015–2016) On August 7, 2015, Craig re-signed with the Cairns Taipans for the 2015–16 NBL season. On October 24, 2015, he recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Melbourne United. On January 13, 2016, in another loss to United, Craig became the first Taipans player to have at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game since Nathan Jawai did so in 2008. The Taipans missed the playoffs in 2015–16 with a 12–16 record. Craig appeared in all 28 games, averaging 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.
Return to the Saints (2016) Following the 2015–16 NBL season, Craig re-joined the Wellington Saints for the 2016 New Zealand NBL season. He was twice named Player of the Week. He helped the Saints reach the grand final, where they defeated the Super City Rangers 94–82 to win the championship, with Craig scoring 15 points. He appeared in all 20 games for the Saints in 2016, averaging 20.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He subsequently earned NZNBL All-Star Five honors for the second straight year.