Statistically speaking, Miles Byrd’s play has dipped in a handful of areas from a year ago. But that doesn’t mean his impact has been any less significant.
As much as anything else, that reality is a testament to the growth he has made since withdrawing from the 2025 NBA draft to return to San Diego State for his junior season.
His scoring, steals and assists may be down from last season, but Byrd has made strides in other ways this year. Now that the season is over for the Aztecs, he’s been put in a similar situation to last year, but with “higher numbers” recorded in the box stats for handling intangible pressure.
“Obviously, I know as a player I could’ve been a lot better in a lot of different areas,” Byrd said of his consistency. “As a person, as a confident player, I also see the impact I made that maybe isn’t noticed on every box sheet and stuff like that … Personally, I think I see it from both angles, which has allowed me to stay level-headed and continue to just work to make sure our team is the best possible team we can be.”
Improving his ability to stay mentally balanced has been a focal point for Byrd, who was voted Mountain West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. The pressures and expectations didn’t weigh on him as much as the fatigue he was feeling after training for the NBA Draft Combine and participating in summer practices with the Aztecs. By his estimation, he had only a week and a half of rest from the end of last season to the start of this season.
“Just a lot of burnout, I feel like I faced early in the year,” he said.
A broken finger on his shooting hand and a sprained thumb on his non-dominant hand in the fall also contributed to a slow start, which affected his overall stats for this concluded season. Compared to last year, his average points per game fell from 12.3 to 10.4 and his number of field goals made fell from 3.9 to 3.5 by the end of this season.
“If he has a bad game, people are going to get on him about that and people are going to hate him,” Aztecs guard Cam Lawin said. “Then, he has a good game and all of a sudden he’s loved again. I feel like he’s realized that throughout this year, especially.”
As the season progressed, he learned to balance internal and external expectations.
“Why would I put any stress on what this person’s saying when I’m probably saying something about myself 10 times worse?” Byrd said.
Social media has amplified the voices of passionate fans and critics. Before, players had to go out of their way to hear what someone was saying.
“[Athletes are] incredibly accessible, which they weren’t even as much as 10 years ago,” said assistant coach Dave Velasquez. “Nowadays, especially with the addition of gambling, the amount of pressure that’s put on these guys is just through the roof. … To handle that type of pressure that you put on yourself, and navigating through [external pressure] is probably his biggest growth as a basketball player.”
A majority of the pressure athletes feel is from the expectation that they need to perform better, but especially after Byrd’s visit to the combine in May 2025, more opinions on his NBA readiness surfaced.
“I obviously know my body. I need a lot of work if I want to be on the NBA court for 20 to 25 minutes a game. I need to put on some weight,” Byrd said. “I knew how inconsistent I was last year. Even this year, I’ve showed a lot of flashes of being inconsistent.”
He doesn’t deny that there’s still room for improvement, trying to turn his internal monologue into a strength of recognition.
“Being self-aware is a power in itself because even though I don’t like the fact that maybe I’m inconsistent sometimes on the court or that I’m a little underweight, I’m aware that I am,” Byrd said. “I’m able to work on it myself. I’m not fighting internally that, ‘oh, I’m not inconsistent, I’m not underweight’; I am aware of these things. I do a good job working day in and day out to try to mask that.”
All this work is to ensure he’s ready to face challenges with a strong mind and body. This season has proved to be a time where he can thicken the armor he wears to stay confident and keep playing within himself. This armor will hopefully prove helpful one day as he continues his pursuit of a career in the NBA.
Standing in Byrd’s corner, former SDSU teammate Lamont Butler agrees with the decision for him to go back to school until he feels ready.
“I think it was the right decision. I think it’s hard for him to go into the NBA and not be ready mentally,” Butler explained. “Physically, he is what he is. He’s getting better every day. There’s really a mental side of things.”
Butler transferred to Kentucky with one year of eligibility in basketball remaining after graduating from SDSU in 2024. He went undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft and is now recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last October, which affected his ability to play with the College Park Skyhawks.
Growing from being teammates who appeared in the 2023 March Madness run for the Aztecs, to “brothers” during Byrd’s first two seasons, Butler would do anything for Byrd. He goes on to say that even after reaching the NBA, players still face challenges. There’s uncertainty that lies during draft picks and even when seasons and contracts start.
No doubt lies in Butler’s support for Byrd as he faces a time he’s somewhat familiar with now. As the 2026 NBA Combine and draft inch nearer, his mentality and emotional perseverance will be tested yet again.
Despite Byrd’s on-court performance this season not showing the promise that fans say makes him ready for the NBA, it can be argued that he’s been putting in the time to strengthen what matters off the court.
