Former Arizona Wildcats guard Nico Mannion will get his first NBA start for the Golden State Warriors Thursday night and he'll do so in the same state he played college and high school hoops.
Mannion was announced as the Warriors' starting point guard for the team's road matchup against the Phoenix Suns.
Played high school ball in Arizona.Played college ball in Arizona.Tonight, @niccolomannion makes his first NBA start in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/5eiP1BpSl9
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 5, 2021
Steph Curry (rest) will not play in Golden State's final game before the All-Star break, opening the door for the second-round pick to earn a heavy share of minutes at point guard versus the Suns.
Mannion has been on a two-way contract in his rookie year with the Warriors, rotating between the franchise's G-League team and being used as a role player in Golden State.
The 6-foot-2 guard last played for Golden State on Jan. 28 and has been primarily playing with the Santa Cruz G-League team since then. Mannion is averaging 19.3 points and 6.9 assists with Santa Cruz, including a 27-point performance on Feb. 28.
Mannion was recalled by the Warriors on March 1.
The rookie played one season at Arizona and previously attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix where he was the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
Golden State and Phoenix tips off at 8 p.m. local time.
