Category: Buffs in NBA

Is Jabari Walker the biggest steal of the draft? For The Win believes so

It’s still early, but Jabari Walker could be the biggest steal of the NBA draft

Every Colorado Buffaloes fan (and basketball pundits, in general) was stunned when Jabari Walker nearly went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was one of the last selections of the evening with the Portland Trail Blazers nabbing him at No. 57 overall to end his surprising slide.

Walker had consistently been a mid-second round choice in mock drafts leading up to draft night, but nobody expected him to be the second to last player taken.

His Las Vegas Summer League debut was a strong one, and Walker then followed that up with a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double on Monday night against the New York Knicks.

Well, Walker could very well be the steal of the draft thus far, and Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win said exactly that after Walker’s performance on Monday. His stats back it up so far as well.

Although these stats are a bit flawed, for context: Walker leads all drafted players in Win Shares (0.7) and PER (33.0) and he trails only first-round pick Tari Eason in FIC (40.1) thus far. It is hard to make a sweeping claim about raw plus-minus in an exhibition game, but in Las Vegas, the Blazers tend to perform better when Walker is on the floor relative to when he is not.

Sure, it’s still very early, but Walker has come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. As Kalbrosky says, the Blazers are better with Walker on the court.

Blazers head coach and fellow Buffs alum Chauncey Billups might have a hard time leaving Walker on the bench or in the G League, especially if he keeps up this performance.

So far, so good for Jabari Walker. Then again, we aren’t surprised.

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Jabari Walker impresses in Summer League debut

Jabari Walker put up double figures in his NBA debut

Former Colorado Buffaloes star Jabari Walker is rocking an NBA uniform. After being selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft, Walker headed to Las Vegas as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers to participate in the Summer League.

The Blazers kicked things off late Thursday night and the game ended right before 11 p.m. MT. So, if you missed it, that’s probably why.

Nonetheless, Walker impressed in his Blazers debut. He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and a block in just under 15 minutes of play as the Blazers lost to the Detroit Pistons, 81-78. Those are terrific numbers, especially considering the little amount of time he got on the floor.

Walker did a little bit of everything, and his block is a play Buffs fans will want to watch on repeat.

Walker and the Blazers will play the second game of their Summer League on Saturday at 8 p.m. MT against the New Orleans Pelicans. If you want to watch, it will be aired on ESPN2.

So far so good for Walker’s NBA career, and let’s see how he fares the rest of the Summer League.

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Six former Buffs playing in the NBA Summer League

Who are you looking forward to watching in the Summer League?

The Colorado Buffaloes watched Jabari Walker get selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft.

He is headed for the Summer League, and a handful of other former Buffs are also set for Summer League action. The hope is for them to improve their craft and hopefully make a run at a big league roster spot when the 2022-23 season begins. As we’ve seen with McKinley Wright IV and Tyler Bey, staying on the NBA team as a rookie isn’t always easy, so the Summer League remains a valuable opportunity.

Let’s take a look at the six former Colorado men’s basketball players that will be playing in the 2022 Summer League:

Former Buff Alec Burks traded to the Detroit Pistons

Alec Burks was traded to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, marking his seventh NBA team

Former Colorado Buffaloes great Alec Burks will be playing for a new NBA team come next season. The New York Knicks sent Burks and center Nerlens Noel to the Detroit Pistons to free up cap space for a run at Jalen Brunson.

Burks is coming off ankle surgery this offseason but could provide solid guard play to a team in desperate need of it. The shooting guard has always been able to light it up from outside, and Burks is coming off a season in which he averaged 11.7 points per game and shot an impressive .404% from 3-point range.

Since his last season with the Buffs in 2010-11, Burks has now been on seven different NBA teams.

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Jabari Walker shows off his new summer league threads

Jabari Walker revealed his new number for the Blazers’ summer league team

The Colorado Buffaloes are celebrating after watching Jabari Walker be selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Walker is headed for NBA Summer League and has a terrific shot to earn a spot on the Blazers roster, although the recent Damian Lillard-Kevin Durant rumors might change a lot of things.

Nonetheless, Walker showed off his new threads for the Summer League, and the former Buffs star will be wearing No. 34. First-round pick Shaedon Sharpe also sported his new jersey and jersey number, and a new chapter is beginning in Portland with these additions. This summer league squad might be fun to watch.

Walker waited a while to hear his name called on Thursday night, but just two picks before the end, the Blazers fulfilled his dream of becoming an NBA player.

The selection of Walker was seen as a steal by many, and he was expected to be a second-round pick, although certainly not that late.

The new chapter is here for Walker and let’s see how he performs in the Summer League starting July 7.

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BREAKING: Jabari Walker selected 57th overall by Chauncey Billups’ Portland Trail Blazers

Jabari Walker is headed to Portland

Jabari Walker has been drafted into the NBA!

The former Colorado Buffaloes star was drafted 57th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers and will play under another former Buff, Chauncey Billups.

2021 was a down year for Portland and Walker will hopefully have a chance to get playing time with a rebuilding team that still houses one of the best players in the league, Damian Lillard.

Walker’s defensive prowess, as well as his rebounding and outside shooting, will be a welcome addition to the Trail Blazers. They were near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding, free-throw shooting and blocked shots, while ranking only middle of the road in 3-point shooting. Joining Walker in Portland is seventh overall pick Shaedon Sharpe out of Kentucky.

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How would Jabari Walker’s skills translate to the NBA?

How do you see Jabari Walker’s skills translating to the NBA?

As Walker and the rest of Buff nation wait for Thursday’s NBA draft to begin, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released his top-100 draft prospects. Colorado’s star forward was at No. 49, which would get him safely into the second round.

Jabari Walker, while still young, has his work cut out for him to be a reliable NBA player, especially on the offensive end. But with his size and spot-up shooting ability that I’ve seen Walker display, to go along with what looks to be a well-rounded defensive game, he can buy himself some time to refine himself.

His talent is certainly plentiful, but work remains for him and almost any college player looking to get drafted.

Here’s what Vecenie wrote regarding how Walker would be received into the NBA (h/t The Athletic):

What role can Walker fill on offense? That’s ultimately the big question. He’s a good shooter, but he’s streaky enough to where
he’s not a good enough shooter to not do anything else on that end and make it. Essentially, you have to buy into him being able
to add some further functional ability as a driver or finisher. He’s much more interesting if you felt like he could be a versatile
roll man off pick-and-rolls or pick-and-pops. Or if he could make short-roll passing reads. Or if he could functionally attack
closeouts to where he can either drive to kick or drive to score. He can’t do any of that right now. He’s still a teenager, so there
is some real time for him to add these skills. And his defensive versatility mixed with his size and potential to shoot it only off
the catch could give him enough time to figure the rest of it out. There’s a chance Walker is a useful forward defender who can
knock down shots at some point. But it’s very theoretical until he becomes more comfortable on offense. He’s on the borderline
of being a guarantee guy or a two-way for me.

Walker finished his Colorado career as a 39.9% 3-point shooter with a respectable .783 mark from the stripe. The shooting ability is definitely there and could go a long way towards convincing an NBA GM to take a chance on him. I see Walker contributing as an intriguing 3-and-D type prospect while he grows into the NBA game.

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Jabari Walker’s strengths and weaknesses discussed by The Athletic ahead of NBA draft

The Athletic broke down Jabari Walker’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of the NBA draft

Jabari Walker has been a hot commodity this draft cycle, working out for multiple teams in preparation for Thursday’s NBA draft. Walker had a solid Colorado career, perhaps highlighted by a 24-point performance in the Buffaloes’ first-round March Madness game against Georgetown his freshman season.

The Buffs’ leading scorer and rebounder of this last season, Walker declared for the NBA draft and will be looking to hear his name called Thursday night. But what makes Walker so appealing to NBA franchises? The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie recently profiled Walker as part of his 2022 NBA draft guide.

First of all, Vecenie loved Walker’s physical attributes (h/t The Athletic):

At 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and an 8-foot-9 standing reach, Walker has good size and length for the four position. Plays
with real twitch and light on his feet. Also has good functional strength. Was not very flexible as an athlete as a freshman but has
improved in a big way there.

I buy Walker as a shooter for the most part. Clean release with good touch as a teenager. Good shot prep. Ready to one-two step
into the shot. Gets a good base underneath him and sets to fire. Really good as a trailer when he can step into it.

Walker’s length is what stood out during his Colorado career and here we see Vecenie touching upon that. As the old adage goes, you can’t teach size, and Walker has both the height and wingspan to be an NBA four. It doesn’t hurt that Walker grew up around the game with his dad Samaki Walker playing in the NBA as well.

With the good must also come the bad; Vecenie was not as impressed with Walker’s offensive game:

Outside of the jumper, I don’t see a ton that is all that translatable as an offensive player. The shot might be enough, but Walker has a way to go at all three levels.

Not a good enough finisher for what his tools are. Made 52.8 percent of his shots at the rim this past season, a well below-average number for someone this big. Can dunk out on the break or out of the dunker spot, but he’s a significant load-up athlete at the rim.

Walker will need to round out his offensive abilities as mentioned above. Given his length, you would think he would be a more polished finisher around the rim, but based on his shooting percentage noted above, he has a lot to improve on.

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PHOTOS: Former Buffs in the NBA Finals

LOOK: Buffs in the NBA Finals through the years

We’ve been keeping close tabs on Derrick White throughout the NBA playoffs and it was great to see him drop 21 points in Game 1 of the finals on Thursday. White’s Boston Celtics are now just three wins away from winning their 18th NBA championship.

If Boston does close things out, White would become just the fourth former Colorado men’s basketball player to earn a ring: Scott Wedman won two with the Celtics (1984, 1986), Matt Bullard helped the Houston Rockets win in 1994 and, of course, Chauncey Billups earned NBA Finals MVP for the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

With all that history in mind, let’s take a photographic look back at former Buffaloes in the NBA Finals.

Derrick White drops 21 points in NBA Finals debut

Derrick White led the charge off the Celtics’ bench in Game 1

The Boston Celtics kicked things off with a Game 1 NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics came into the Bay Area and stunned the Dubs in terrific fashion, walking out with a 120-108 victory.

Jaylen Brown and Al Horford led the way as Jayson Tatum struggled and went just 3-for-17 from the field, although he did add 13 assists.

However, former Colorado Buffaloes star Derrick White paced the way off the bench with 31 minutes. He finished the game with 21 points on 6-of-11 from the field, including an impressive 5-for-8 clip from beyond the arc. White even played more minutes than Marcus Smart and was an essential piece to the Boston victory.

Once again, the NBA trade deadline deal with the San Antonio Spurs is paying off in a massive way for the Celtics and for White, who has transitioned into his role rather well.

It looked rough for the Celtics going into the third quarter, but they outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final frame, and White hit a couple of huge shots down the stretch.

So, White and the Celtics take a crucial 1-0 lead with Game 2 scheduled for Sunday in the Bay Area before the series moves to Boston.

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