Category: Gators in NBA

Pat Dooley’s Book of Lists – Volume 20: The 10 greatest Gator NBA players

Here’s a look at the 10 greatest former Gators who played in the NBA according to longtime UF sports journalist Pat Dooley.

Former longtime Gainesville Sun sportswriter Pat Dooley contributes on a weekly basis to Gators Wire with “Pat Dooley’s Book of Lists,” chronicling his thoughts on the past, present and future of Gators sports. Look for more frequent contributions during football season.

The NBA draft is coming up Thursday and it has been very, very good to the Gators over the last two decades. Not Kentucky good, but when you consider that 21 players were drafted before Billy Donovan walked through that door and 19 players recruited by Donovan (that includes transfers) were drafted, well, you see why a massive picture of Billy D still towers over the lobby of the practice facility.

Unfortunately for Mike White, Florida is now on a seven-year run of getting shut out in the draft. That will almost certainly end this year with Tre Mann being touted as a high first-round pick (probably late in the first) and Scottie Lewis with an outside shot at being a second-round pick.

The draft is a lot more fickle than it was BB (Before Billy) with only two rounds and so many more foreign players in the mix. Back in 1968, David Miller was selected in the 12th round.

That sounds like a long day of drafting practice players.

Certainly, there have been plenty of Gator players who went on to have excellent careers (not to mention lucrative careers overseas).

Here are the 10 best Gator NBA players:

Former Florida star Bradley Beal makes USA Basketball Olympic Roster

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

Former Florida one-and-done Bradley Beal will help the red, white and blue chase another gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics this summer, as he made the 12-man USA basketball roster. This will be his first time competing with the U.S. senior men’s national team.

Beal finished his latest season with the Washington Wizards just shy of grabbing the award for the league’s top scorer with 31.3 points per game. Because of his stellar play, he earned a spot on the All-NBA third team. He also led his team to the NBA playoffs, where the Philadelphia 76ers knocked the Wizards out in five games.

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In his career so far, he has been named an All-Star on three separate occasions, most recently this season. As a college player at UF, he finished his only season in the Orange and Blue as an All-SEC performer.

Beal will make history this summer when he becomes the first former Gators men’s basketball player to make the Olympic team.

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Bradley Beal committed to represent Team USA at the Olympics

The former Florida and current Washington Wizards guard is one of eight players that have committed to join Team USA for the Tokyo Games.

Former Florida and current Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal will make his Olympic debut next month in Tokyo. The 27-year-old is one of eight players that has committed to be a part of the three-time defending gold medal-winning United States basketball squad.

In addition to the six players joining Beal that the above tweet lists, Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden also committed to play for Team USA in the Olympics.

Beal is coming off a season in which he reached his career-high in points per game with 31.3. He also averaged 4.4 assists and 4.7 rebounds, and he was a member of the All-Star team for the third time in his career. The Wizards made the playoffs, but despite Beal averaging 30 points and 6.4 rebounds during the postseason (both career marks), Washington was bounced in five games by the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Though this will be his first time representing Team USA at the Olympics, it’s not the first time Beal has participated in international competition. While in high school, he was a member of the U.S. national team at the FIBA Americas Championship in 2009 and at the World Championship the following year.

Beal was a candidate to make the national team both at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 and the Basketball World Cup in China two years ago, but he withdrew from consideration for the former due to injury concerns and the latter for family reasons.

Now, Beal will make his debut on the international stage as a part of the team that will surely be heavily favored to take home the gold medal for the fourth games in a row.

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Should Bradley Beal ask for a trade out of Washington?

Bradley Beal and his team face another early exit from the playoffs. After nine seasons, is it time for Beal to ask for a trade from D.C.?

There are only a handful of NBA stars who have stuck with one team for the duration of their career in this current era of basketball.

Former Florida one-and-done star Bradley Beal has spent nine seasons with the Washington Wizards where they’ve been stuck in mediocrity. Washington has only made the playoffs five times where it has failed to escape the first two rounds of the postseason.

Sports Illustrated NBA writer Howard Beck wrote a column about how much longer Beal can take playing for one of the bottom dwellers in the NBA who is currently facing another first-round exit.

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Beck and other NBA front-office executives believe it’s time that Beal embraces change while he remains in the prime of his career. The former Gators shooting guard has proven he’s one of the best scorers in the league, averaging 30 points per game the last two seasons.

I agree with Beck and the executives he spoke with that it’s time for Beal to ask for a trade. He has been snubbed for individual awards due to his team’s poor play and hasn’t sniffed playoff success. I also think it would work out well for both sides in the long run.

For Beal, he can join a contender with another or a pair of superstars next season like when James Harden was traded from the Rockets to the Nets. He has been great to Washington and his loyalty to the Wizards should be greatly appreciated.

Washington would benefit from trading him because it can finally escape this wash, rinse and repeat cycle of making the playoffs and then being eliminated shortly thereafter. Trading for former Houston point guard Russell Westbrook helped satisfy Beal, but Westbrook turns 33 in November and his level of play has started to decline.

If the Wizards hit the reset button, they can get draft capital and a host of young players in return for Beal because he’s under contract until 2022-2023. For example, the Thunder got five first-round picks, two pick swaps and a budding all-star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Paul George.

They can also have a better chance of earning a higher draft pick to build around Rui Hachimura, their top pick in 2019.

Both parties would have a greater chance of achieving their goals if Beal asked for a trade out of Washington.

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Check out how these former Gators performed in Game 1 of NBA playoffs

Dorian Finney-Smith poured in a playoff career-high in a Game 1 win. Bradley Beal recorded 33 points in an opening series loss to the 76ers.

Former Gators basketball star Dorian Finney-Smith recorded a playoff career-high to help the Mavericks earn a 113-103 Game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Finney-Smith wasn’t the only former Florida player to make the NBA playoffs. Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal returned to the postseason for the first time in two years. He shined and netted 33 points in a narrow defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 6-foot-7-inch Dallas power forward made the Clippers pay when they left him open. His star teammate Luka Doncic poured in 31 points and 11 assists that forced Los Angeles to guard him full court. Its coach Tyronn Lue elected to send a double-team his way that forced him to surrender the ball.

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When Doncic or another Mavericks player found Finney-Smith, he nailed the open shots. He finished the game four for five from beyond the arc and added five rebounds and two assists.

“I just know they’re going to send two guys at Luka,” Finney-Smith said, according to ESPN. “You’ve just got to be ready to shoot.”

His coach Rick Carlisle praised his efforts following the win.

“He has great belief in himself,” he said, according to Mavs Moneyball. “His 3-pointer tonight was absolutely key to the win.”

Finney-Smith will need to stay hot from deep if Dallas hopes to knock off the Clippers. The Mavericks also stole home-court advantage. The series will continue in Los Angeles Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EDT and can be seen on NBATV.

On the other hand, Beal and the Wizards hope to bounce back after a 125-118 loss to No. 1-seeded Philadelphia.

The former Florida diaper dandy tallied 33 points in the game but struggled from the 3-point line and only hit 16.7% of his shots. He failed to get help from his other all-star Russell Westbrook who only offered 16 in the game.

Game 2 remains in Philadelphia and tip off will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT and can be seen on NBATV.

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Here’s where Tre Mann lands in ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft

The latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony shows Tre Mann falling out of the lottery to the Hawks with the 19th pick.

Former Florida guard Tre Mann has seen his stock improve tremendously since he almost single-handedly led the Gators through the postseason. The team got knocked out in the second round, but Mann averaged 21.3 points per game in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, improving upon his already impressive season average of 16.

Unsurprisingly, Mann made the decision to enter the NBA draft with an agent after the season, forfeiting his remaining college eligibility with the Gators in the process. He’s expected to end a drought of Florida players being drafted into the NBA that dates back to 2013. He’s also very likely to be the first UF first-round pick since Bradley Beal went third overall in 2012.

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But where exactly will Mann land? There’s not exactly a clear consensus. Some mock drafts show the former five-star recruit from The Villages landing near the tail end of the lottery, while others show him falling deeper into the first round. The only consistency is that most prognosticators don’t expect Mann to fall beyond the first 30 picks.

The draft order is far from set, as the NBA playoff field was only finalized with Golden State’s loss to Memphis on Friday night in the eight-seed play-in game. We now know which teams will be in the lottery, but that’s about it. But based on current projections, the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony shows Mann falling out of the lottery to the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th pick.

Finding a combo guard who can play on or off the ball and complement star point guard Trae Young could very well be a priority for the Hawks. Mann is a promising pick-and-roll ball handler whose size and 40% 3-point shooting will allow him to play in a variety of lineup configurations.

This would be an interesting spot for Mann. As Givony mentions, the Hawks already have one of the best up-and-coming guards in Trae Young, who (as his name suggests) is only 22. Young primarily runs the point, and successfully, at that. He’s averaging over 25 points per game in 2020-21 and led the Hawks to a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Adding Mann to the equation would give Atlanta quite a formidable backcourt, but it would be interesting to see how he and Young would coexist considering they’re both facilitators.

NEXT: Were any other Gators mentioned?

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Two-time Gators national champion Joakim Noah to retire from NBA

Joakim Noah, whose game helped usher in the era of versatility for big men in today’s NBA, is “effectively” retiring from basketball.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Joakim Noah, whose game helped usher in the era of versatility for big men in today’s NBA, is “effectively” retiring from basketball, The Athletic reported Monday.

Noah, who turned 36 last week, spent the first nine nine seasons of his career with the Chicago Bulls and it is expected he will retire as a member of the organization, according to The Athletic. He was a two-time All-Star and won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2014.

Chicago drafted Noah ninth overall in the 2007 draft out of the University of Florida. With the Bulls, he first served as a complement to Derrick Rose, but became more of a focal point under coach Tom Thibodeau after Rose injured his knee and never returned to MVP form.

The 6-foot-11 center could score down low, step outside the paint for jumpers, distribute the ball to teammates for scoring opportunities and protect the rim on the defense. His first All-Star campaign arrived in 2012-13, when he averaged 11.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and four assists. The next season, he went for 12.6-11.3-5.4 and finished fourth in MVP voting.

Noah will also be remembered for being a foil to LeBron James, starting with James’ first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, as the two exchanged words during free throws. Noah then famously disparaged the city of Cleveland. Their feud lasted through the 2015 playoffs, when James was called for a technical after dunking on Noah and they confronted each other once more.

After the 2015-16 season, in which he started two games, Noah signed a four-year contract with his hometown New York Knicks. He eventually was assigned to the G-League before being waived in October 2018. He played the rest of that season with the Memphis Grizzlies

Last year, Noah joined the Los Angeles Clippers for one game prior to the NBA suspending its season due to the coronavirus. He appeared in five games in the bubble and appeared in two games (1:52 total playing time) during the postseason.

He was waived by the Clippers on Dec. 1.

Noah’s professional career followed back-to-back national championships with the Florida Gators men’s basketball team.

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Former Gator Bradley Beal selected as a 2021 All-Star Game starter

The Washington Wizards guard is averaging career-highs in both points and rebounds after a torrid first half of the 2021 NBA schedule.

Former Gators guard Bradley Beal was named a member of the NBA All-Star team for the third time in his career. The 27-year-old, who has been with the Washington Wizards since they selected him third overall after his freshman season at Florida in 2012, has been chosen as one of the game’s starters.

Beal is off to a strong start as we approach the halfway mark of the season. He’s averaging career highs in points per game (32.8) and rebounds per game (5.2). He’s also facilitating well, averaging 4.7 assists.

On Jan. 6, Beal scored a career-high 60 points in a loss to the 76ers, tying Gilbert Arenas’ franchise record for points scored in a single game.

Beal has been one of the lone bright spots on a struggling Wizards team. Despite his play this season, Washington has just a 7-17 record through the first 24 games.

Many thought he was snubbed from the game last season, but now he will have the opportunity to start in it for the first time in his career.

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Wizards struggle despite Bradley Beal’s explosive offense. Will they trade their star?

Beal earned some unwanted infamy on Wednesday when he dropped 47 points on the New Orleans Pelicans in a losing effort.

Former Florida Gators standout Bradley Beal has absolutely been on fire so far this season for the Washington Wizards as he currently leads the NBA in points per game with an eye-popping 34.7 — almost four full points more than second-place Kevin Durant’s 30.4 per.

However, all is not well in the capital city as the Wiz has limped to a 3-12 start despite Beal’s savage scoring output.

In fact, Beal earned some unwanted infamy on Wednesday night when he dropped 47 points on the New Orleans Pelicans in a losing effort. With that defeat, the “Big Panda” became the first player in league history to lose 10-straight games while scoring at least 40 points. Ouch.

So it should hardly come as a surprise that a shining star on a struggling team would garner some trade interest, especially if Beal can provide the final piece to the puzzle for a franchise with young talent to swap. But that does not quite seem to be in the cards just yet, as Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Washington is not looking to deal its marquee player… yet.

Here is Wojnarowski’s breakdown of the Beal deal:

Right now, Bradley’s focus with the Wizards is just on trying to get this season turned around, and trying to get this team on track. Beal when he signed that extension, adding on a couple years to his deal — remember he’s under contract next season, 2021-22, has a player option for 2022-23 — he knew that there was going to be a period that they needed to see growth.

He wanted to see where the Wizards could go as an organization: John Wall was coming back, they brought in Rui Hachimura, Thomas Bryant, that was a significant injury losing him for the season. This wasn’t the team they envisioned going into the year. The one thing with Beal and the relationship he’s had with that organization is he’s not impetuous with what’s going on. He has been extremely loyal. I think people were surprised when he decided to do that extension given where the team was.

Now, the trade deadline is March 25, that’s less than two months away. You talk to other teams who are all over the league monitoring the Beal situation closely and looking for any inkling to think that he might be coming available. And teams will typically know before anybody else does, before we even report it, that there’s an opening there. And none of them sense that now.

Things change, but right now he’s trying to get this team back on track. But there’s no question that his future, his long-term future, is very uncertain there.

There is absolutely no question that Beal’s future is very uncertain, but much of his destiny lies in how well — and how soon — the Wizards organization can get its product on the court to a higher level. Frankly, it would not be terribly surprising if he is shipped off before the March 25 trade deadline.

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Is former Gator Bradley Beal on the NBA trading block?

CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn sees the nine-year veteran as the premier talent currently available on the NBA trade market.

Despite the successes of the Billy Donovan era in Gainesville, Florida basketball does not have much in the way of representation currently in the National Basketball Association, as only five players are signed to active contracts and only four of those have actually played in a game. However, there is one former Gator who has been making big waves in the league these past few years and he is currently at the top of the trade talk discussion.

Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal, a one-and-doner in Gainesville who dropped a career-high 60 points last week, is the primary focus of CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, who sees the nine-year veteran as the premier talent currently available on the trade market. Here is what he had to say about the Wizards’ prolific scorer.

1. Bradley Beal

Beal is the obvious name here. The Wizards are 3-8 and have missed the past two postseasons. He has openly complained about his team’s defense and how it continually manages to waste his best individual games. His contract lasts only through the 2021-22 season, and after giving up a first-round to acquire Russell Westbrook, the Wizards are incentivized to get as much back for Beal as possible to help ensure a smooth rebuild. Nothing they’ve said or done to this point indicates a willingness to deal their star shooting guard, but history says that if the Wizards don’t turn things around soon, Beal will force the issue. This much, we can safely assume.

What is more open to speculation, though, is what impact Beal’s potential availability had on the Harden sweepstakes. Brooklyn paid a premium for Harden, and justifiably so. He is a better player than Beal, but he’s five years older and much more difficult to fit within a typical contending roster. Offenses need to be constructed around Harden. Beal can fit within any offensive construction.

Philadelphia was willing to give up Ben Simmons in a deal for Harden, but haggled over Tyrese Maxey, according to The New York Times’ Marc Stein. Miami bowed out early in the process according to multiple reports, but they have reportedly coveted Beal for quite some time. Both teams have star big men in their 20s. Might they prefer to pair those big men with the 26-year-old Beal to the 31-year-old Harden?

We won’t know for certain until Beal becomes available. For now, what we can say is that reports throughout the process suggested that Houston was not interested in Brooklyn’s offer for Harden. That they eventually took it likely means that other teams with preferable packages just didn’t offer what the Rockets expected them to. Beal is the simplest answer as to why. Multiple teams kept their powder dry in the Harden sweepstakes, and without an obvious follower to Beal on the star market, it’s almost impossible to deny his impact on the Harden deal.

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