Bowman grew up in Havelock, North Carolina and was a two-sport star in basketball and football at Havelock High School. He was rated a three star recruit as a wide receiver and initially committed to play football at North Carolina as a sophomore over offers from major football programs, including Alabama, before ultimately de-committing in order to pursue basketball despite only having one scholarship offer from a Division I school at the time. As a senior, Bowman averaged 23.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Rams and was an All-State selection as well as the Area Player of the Year by the New Bern Sun Journal. Over the course of his high school basketball career, Bowman scored 1,813 total points with 652 rebounds and 338 assists and averaged 19.3 points per game, although over his final three seasons he averaged 24.1 points per game. Bowman originally tried to commit to play basketball at East Carolina, but was never contacted back by the team's coaches. Bowman eventually committed to play basketball at Boston College over offers from California, Cincinnati, and Memphis.
College career
Bowman was recruited by Boston College assistant coachScott Spinelli. Bowman played three years for the Boston College Eagles, all as a starter. In his freshman season, Bowman averaged 14.5 points, 2.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team. He was one of five freshman in the nation to have at least three 30-point games. Bowman's season ended after being injured in the first round of the 2017 ACC Tournament against Wake Forest. As a sophomore Bowman averaged a 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, along with a team-leading 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game and was named honorable mention All-ACC. Bowman initially declared himself eligible for the 2018 NBA draft, but did not hire an agent and ultimately decided to return to Boston College for his junior season. Bowman entered his junior season as the ACC's highest returning scorer from the previous season and was named to the 2019 Bob Cousy Award watchlist. Bowman averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, all of which were ranked in the top ten in the ACC, as well as an NCAA-best 39.4 minutes per game and was named second team All-ACC. He also posted the three highest scoring performances in the ACC during the 2018-19 season with 44 against Hartford, 38 vs. Wyoming and 37 against Florida State. Bowman announced on April 2, 2019 that he had declared for the 2019 NBA draft and intended on hiring an agent, forgoing his final year of eligibility. Bowman finished his collegiate career with 1,661 points scored, 627 rebounds, and 382 assists in 98 games.
Bowman received an invitation to participate in the NBA Draft Combine but ultimately went unselected in the Draft, reportedly due to his reluctance to sign a two-way contract and a desire to evaluate his options as an undrafted free agent. He signed a one-year contract with the Golden State Warriors the following day on June 21, 2019 to join their Summer League team and averaged 3.3 points, 1.9 assists and 1.7 rebounds in seven Summer League games. He officially signed a two-way contract with the Warriors on July 31, 2019. Bowman made his NBA debut on October 24, 2019 against the Los Angeles Clippers, playing four minutes off the bench and recording an assist in a 141-122 loss. Bowman made his first career start on November 2, 2019 against the Charlotte Hornets, scoring 16 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 93-87 loss. Two days later on November 4, Bowman scored his career high 19 points with eight assists and four rebounds in a 127-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On November 25, Bowman scored another career high 24 points with five assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block in a 97-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his G League debut on December 14, he had 27 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds against the Agua Caliente Clippers. The Warriors converted Bowman's two-way contract to a multiyear NBA contract on February 7, 2020.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
College
Personal life
Bowman's brother, Michael, was also a standout receiver at Havelock and committed to play college football at South Carolina at a joint ceremony where Ky also committed to North Carolina. The elder Bowman lost his scholarship after being convicted of stealing Apple products from an elementary school. Bowman has stated that his decision to pursue basketball instead of football was in large part due to reflection after his brother's arrest.
