The NBA season is set to tip off Tuesday after an abbreviated two-month offseason.
Another NBA season on the horizon means another year of ex-Arizona Wildcats in the pros, and there’s plenty of them either playing or coaching.
Here’s an updated list of ex-Wildcats in the NBA:
Deandre Ayton, C/PF, Phoenix Suns
The rundown: Could this be the year Ayton and the Phoenix Suns end a 10-year playoff drought? It’s possible after the “Valley Boyz” added point guard Chris Paul to match up with Ayton and budding star Devin Booker, who averaged nearly 27 points per game last season.
Unfortunately for Ayton, the highest-selected UA player in NBA draft history, he’s garnered the guy-who-was-drafted-before-Luka-Doncic reputation from league pundits and personalities, as if the Suns were supposed to gamble on a European teenager rather than taking a herculean figure that dominated college basketball and plays two hours away.
Doncic is viewed as a top-10 player in the league, and rightfully so, but Ayton’s double-double average through two seasons as a pro can’t be ignored. After helping lead the Suns to an undefeated “bubble” season, Ayton could continue to develop his rep as one of the top bigs in the NBA today.
Aaron Gordon, F, Orlando Magic
The rundown: It’s been an active year for the former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Gordon competed in his third NBA slam dunk contest during All-Star Weekend but lost in a dunk-off with Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat, which broadcaster Reggie Miller called a “highway robbery.” Afterwards, Gordon released his own rap song titled “9 out of 10,” the score a few judges gave Gordon after his dunk over 7-foot-6-inch Celtics center Tacko Fall.
Earlier this month, Gordon released his debut shoes — the “AG 1s” — with Chinese-based brand 361 Degrees, becoming the second Wildcat since Gilbert Arenas to have his own sneaker line. Gordon will try to take a leap forward in the third season of a four-year, $80 million contract.
Andre Iguodala, F, Miami Heat
The rundown: The lone Lute Olson product still playing in the NBA is coming off his sixth straight NBA Finals appearance. The 36-year-old Iguodala is entering his 16th season in the NBA and second with the Heat. Miami could be in contention to make another trip to the NBA Finals:
They return Iguodala, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, and have added former Stanford star KZ Okpala and defensive-minded guard Avery Bradley.
Lauri Markkanen, PF, Chicago Bulls
The rundown: Markkanen was the only ex-Wildcat not to play in the Orlando bubble last spring, the result of the Bulls being not good enough to quality. This season is an important year for the Finnish 7-footer, as he’s going into the final year of his rookie deal and will go into the summer as a restricted free agent. Markkanen joins Zach LaVine, Coby White and Wendell Carter Jr. under first-year head coach Billy Donovan.
T.J. McConnell, PG, Indiana Pacers
The rundown: One of the most beloved UA point guards in program history is entering his fifth season in the NBA — halfway to achieving a place in the Ring of Honor at McKale Center. The undrafted guard has carved out a role as a backup point guard, first with the 76ers and now with the Pacers. In 71 games last year, McConnell averaged 6.5 points, five assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. McConnell is set to earn $3.5 million in his final season with the Pacers.
Hawks forward Solomon Hill, right, a former Wildcat, is with a new team after helping Miami to the NBA Finals.
Solomon Hill, SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks
The rundown: Hill’s garbage-time jumpshot in the final seconds of the Heat’s series-clinching NBA Finals loss to the Lakers were the final points scored in the 2019-20 season. Hill is now with the Hawks, his fifth team since he was a late first-round pick in the 2013 draft. The 29-year-old Hill will earn $2.1 million on an Atlanta team featuring De’Andre Hunter, John Collins, Danillo Gallinari and Cam Reddish competing for minutes at the forward positions.
Stanley Johnson, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors
The rundown: The eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Johnson has averaged just 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in his career. Last season, Johnson averaged 2.4 points in 19 games with the Raptors and played in just eight games in the bubble. Johnson is another ex-Wildcat heading into his final season under contract; he’s making $3.8 million.
Josh Green, SG/SF, Dallas Mavericks
The rundown: Green, the first Wildcat drafted by the Mavericks since Sean “Wookie” Rooks in 1992, has already “progressed” in his first year in the NBA, according to coach Rick Carlisle. In Dallas’ 128-112 preseason win over the Bucks, Green scored 10 points and grabbed two rebounds in 19 minutes. The Australian was drafted 18th overall by the Mavs and is expected to have a “3-and-D” role in Dallas.
Zeke Nnaji, PF, Denver Nuggets
The rundown: Can Nnaji’s nickname be “Mr. 22” or “Duece-Deuce”? After all, he wore No. 22 at Arizona, was the 22nd overall pick in the draft, and is wearing No. 22 in Denver. Nnaji will most likely have a reserve role in a Nuggets frontcourt that features star center Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, JaMychal Green and Bol Bol. Long-range shooting has evolved into a necessity for modern NBA power forwards, which isn’t Nnaji’s strong suit after shooting just 5 of 17 from 3-point range at Arizona.
Nico Mannion, PG, Golden State Warriors
The rundown: The Phoenix native slipped to the second round of the draft but showed flashes of potential in preseason. After signing a two-way contract with Golden State, Mannion will likely spend most of his rookie year with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the G League.
Steve Kerr, Head coach, Golden State Warriors
The rundown: Speaking of Wildcats in Golden State, the eight-time NBA champion as a coach and player is back for his sixth season with the Warriors. Last year was the first season the Warriors missed the playoffs under Kerr.
Bruce Fraser, assistant coach, Golden State Warriors
The rundown: Kerr’s top assistant is back on the bench for his sixth season in Golden State.
Golden State guard Stephen Curry shares a laughs with Sacramento coach and former Arizona Wildcat Luke Walton after a preseason game.
Luke Walton, head coach, Sacramento Kings
The rundown: In Walton’s first season in Sacramento, the Kings went 31-41 and finished 12th in the Western Conference standings.
Jesse Mermuys, assistant coach, Sacramento Kings
The rundown: Mermuys, a Tucson native and Salpointe Catholic High School graduate, followed Walton to Sacramento after he wasn’t retained on Frank Vogel’s staff with the Lakers. Mermuys has been an assistant in the NBA since 2008 and has worked with the Nuggets, Rockets, Raptors, Lakers and Kings.
Miles Simon, assistant coach, Los Angeles Lakers
The rundown: Simon says, back-to-back championships? After winning an NBA title, Simon’s Lakers are in position to make another run in ’21.
Quinton Crawford, assistant coach, Los Angeles Lakers
The rundown: The former walk-on was the first Sean Miller product to coach an NBA Finals game. Crawford was also the third Miller-era Wildcat to have a role in the NBA Finals, joining Hill (Heat) and Derrick Williams, who was on the Cavaliers’ 2016-17 team that lost to the Warriors.
Joseph Blair, assistant coach, Minnesota Timberwolves
The rundown: After a season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Blair joined Ryan Saunders’ Minnesota staff during the offseason.
Bret Brielmaier, Head coach, Long Island Nets (G League)
The rundown: Brielmaier was an assistant with the Nets from 2016-20 before he was assigned to coach Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.
