photo by: AP Photo/Nell Redmond

Charlotte Hornets guard Marcus Garrett looks to pass during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

Former standout Kansas guard Marcus Garrett recently received a chance to return to the NBA after an absence of more than three years.

Garrett, who had last played a regular-season game for the Miami Heat on Dec. 28, 2021, took part in four games over the course of a 10-day contract with the Charlotte Hornets beginning on March 12, which he had earned as a call-up from the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League.

Known for his defense, Garrett had been in the midst of his third straight year of G League action, one with the Heat’s affiliate (the Sioux Falls Skyforce) and then, after he had briefly signed to play overseas with a German team, two more with the Swarm.

During the 2024-25 regular season, he had been averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 25 games of action. Previously, he had posted 12.2 points per game in the G League’s early-season Tip-Off Tournament.

His return to the top level of professional basketball included several memorable moments: a 3-pointer as part of the Hornets’ team-record 26 in a 145-134 victory over San Antonio on March 14, and most notably a sequence in which he scored consecutive buckets and stole the ball from the Atlanta Hawks’ All-Star guard Trae Young on back-to-back possessions in a loss on March 18.

That game last Tuesday proved to be Garrett’s best in a Hornets uniform, as he scored 12 points with three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 24 minutes.

It was also his last, as he missed Thursday’s game due to a lower back injury and then was away from the team for Friday’s, according to the Hornets’ availability reports.

Garrett’s contract then lapsed, making him a free agent, Keith Smith of Spotrac reported. He was no longer listed on the Hornets’ roster as of Monday. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 assists in his four games with Charlotte.

Garrett spent four seasons in Lawrence from 2017-21 as one of KU’s best and most versatile defenders in its recent history.

A Dallas native, the 6-foot-5 guard’s most decorated season was the 2019-20 campaign cut short by the pandemic, in which he received both national and Big 12 defensive player of the year honors. As part of what finished the year as the top team in the country, he averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game and led the Big 12 in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Garrett’s professional career began when he spent the NBA Summer League with Miami in 2021 and then signed a two-way contract with the Heat that September.

photo by: AP Photo/Nell Redmond

Atlanta Hawks guard Terance Mann (14) looks to shoot against Charlotte Hornets guard Marcus Garrett (28) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

photo by: AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Charlotte Hornets’ Marcus Garrett poses during the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C.

photo by: AP Photo/William Liang

Los Angeles Clippers forward Drew Eubanks, left, and guard Cam Christie (12) put pressure on Charlotte Hornets guard Marcus Garrett, center, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif.