The 2.11m centre has signed with Kalev/TLU in Estonia.
He will link with the team, which is based in the country’s capital of Tallinn, for the rest of its season in the Estonia-Latvia league.
That concludes in April, after which he will join the Nuggets, potentially missing the first couple of games if his Estonian team makes a playoff run.
It had all happened quickly and the 23-year-old admitted to still being taken aback, although he was very excited.
"I just woke up for training last week and I had a message from my agent," Timmins said.
"He just said, ‘Mate, I’ve got you a gig’.
"I hadn’t heard from him in a while, I was just like ‘I guess I’ll just be hanging around Dunedin and training until Nuggets season’.
"He just hit me up and said ‘I’ve got you a gig and they want you over there asap’."
It had not been a hard decision to take the opportunity.
Timmins had spoken to the team about the Covid-19 situation, which was not too bad compared with the rest of Europe.
Despite that he said even if there was some risk, it was worth taking as his dream was to be a professional basketball player.
He did not think he would have to quarantine on arrival and would stay in a hotel room for the four months.
He had not even had a chance to find out much about his team.
However, he had been training right through summer and he felt he was in a great situation to do well.
"I’m excited. I’m in a good spot right now.
"I’m playing good basketball, I’m in good shape, a good mindset.
"I’m ready to go over there and contribute to whatever they need."
Timmins returned to New Zealand this year and turned out for the Franklin Bulls in the National Basketball League.
That followed four years at the University of Washington in the United States.
He returned to play for the Nuggets in the NBL’s 3x3 Cup last month.
This year would have also been his first Christmas at home in six years.
But he misses that by four hours — flying out of Auckland at 8pm on Christmas Eve.
He will leave Dunedin on Monday, visiting his mother and sister in the North Island prior to leaving.
It was something he had become somewhat accustomed to, having played on several different teams in different situations.
"Yeah, I guess that’s kind of what going to college and playing in different teams [involves]. It prepares you for the professional lifestyle of basketball.
"You’ve got to be able to drop your life at a moment’s notice and go wherever in the world they want to pay you."
