Kyle Filipowski failed to impress in his NBA Summer League debut for the Utah Jazz this week amid controversy surrounding his personal life.
Filipowski, who was selected by the Jazz in the second round of the NBA Draft last month, has been in the news recently amid shocking allegations that he was “manipulated” at the age of 15 by his fiancée Caitlin Hutchison, who is seven years his senior.
After being cut in the first round of the draft, reports surfaced that he was passed over by some teams due to concerns over the 20-year-old’s relationship with Hutchison, 27, and how it has led to him distancing himself from his family.
His estranged family also accuses Hutchison of “coercive control” and “conspiracies” to entrap him at a young age.
After a turbulent few weeks away from the court, Filipowski took the court for the first time as a Jazz player on Monday night during the offseason Summer League competition.
Kyle Filipowski failed to impress in his NBA Summer League debut for the Utah Jazz
Filipowski has been in the news lately for shocking allegations that he was “groomed” at the age of 15 by his seven-year-older fiancée Caitlin Hutchison (left)
And the 6-foot-1 forward had a disappointing night against the Memphis Grizzlies, failing to score in 17 minutes and missing all four of his shots while grabbing four rebounds.
Despite their rookie’s disappointing performance, Utah won the game 97-95.
When Filipowski unexpectedly fell to the second round of the draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony claimed that “off-field events” involving his fiancée played a role.
Givony’s comment prompted the player’s mother, Rebecca, 60, to respond to X by saying, “You’re opening up a two year issue… and she’s 28 with an end game three years ago of having a diamond ring on her hand when Kyle left Duke. HE WAS STILL IN HS.”
The Duke alumna got engaged to Hutchison in April, leaving him estranged from his family. His eldest brother, 29-year-old Daniel, even claims his partner “forced” him into marriage via email.
In a series of posts on X, Daniel initially did not name Hutchison but referred to “Mormon manipulation and brainwashing” and suggested readers “connect some dots.” Hutchison had been raised in the Mormon Church.
The 6-foot-1 forward had a disappointing night against the Memphis Grizzlies, failing to score in 17 minutes and missing all four shots he attempted
Filipowski got engaged to Hutchison in April and is now estranged from his family as a result
The player’s eldest brother, Daniel, 29, posted a cryptic tweet referring to “Mormon grooming and brainwashing” and urging readers to “connect some dots” before more directly criticizing Hutchison for allegedly manipulating his brother into a relationship with him.
Later, in follow-up messages obtained by DailyMail.com, he was even more direct in his criticism of his younger brother’s partner, calling him a manipulative schemer who had set her sights on Filipowski years ago.
According to Daniel, “my brother is a victim and was unfortunately a “perfect” pawn and target for this girl’s lifelong plan, based on his human qualities and growing potential as a promising talent, which began in 2019, exactly when she began her pursuit of him.”
Filipowski would have been only 15 years old when Hutchison – who is 27, not 28 as his mother claims – “began her search.”
DailyMail.com has learned that Hutchison has known Filipowski since he was a child.
A tweet from Kyle’s older brother Taylor, 24, in January 2017 shows a group photo with Filipowski on the far left and Hutchison in the center. Filipowski was 13 and Hutchison was 20 at the time of the photo.
Hutchison’s mother Amanda (pictured) spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com from her home in Madison, Alabama. She didn’t go so far as to refute the rumours – but suggested that more details about the controversial pairing would be revealed soon
The caption reads: ‘#throwbackthursday to an awesome and fun day. Hanging out with my cousins again.’
Hutchison is not a blood relative of Filipowski, but DailyMail.com understands that their parents, Amanda and Kevin Hutchison, 55, and Rebecca and David Filipowski, 65, were so close at one point that their children considered each other “family”.
“There are still things that will happen,” Amanda said last week at her home in Madison, Alabama, adding that the couple is keeping a low profile amid the “firestorm” of allegations.
“What we’ve always told the kids is, for every good thing, if you have even a little bit of faith, there’s going to be naysayers, there’s always a negative for every positive,” she said. “So that’s how we weather those storms.”