Tag: LSU in NBA

LSU in NBA: Duop Reath scores career high in Trail Blazers win

Duop Reath scored a career-high 25 points in the win over the Kings on Tuesday.

Former LSU center [autotag]Duop Reath[/autotag] is currently on a two-way contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, but he’s making a case to stick around in the franchise’s long term plans.

He’s appeared in 20 games this season, making four starts, and he’s coming off a career-high in points with 25 in a win over the Sacramento Kings. He also totaled seven rebounds, a steal and a block.

Reath has spent most of his professional career overseas or in the G League since going undrafted in 2018, and the South Sudan-born Australian was a two-year starter with the Tigers. He’s now getting his chance at the big time, and he’s making the most of it.

On the year, Reath is averaging 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

WATCH: Former LSU player KJ Williams hits game-winning shot in NBA G-League

KJ Williams is making his case to get a shot in the NBA.

Former LSU men’s basketball player [autotag]KJ Williams[/autotag] is making his case for playing in the NBA.

The graduate transfer addition from Murray State was a Second Team All-SEC selection at LSU last season, and despite going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, he landed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Summer League and ultimately made the opening night roster for the team’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.

Williams is making his presence known in the organization, and on Wednesday night, he hit a last-second, game-winning three-point buzzer-beater to lift the Blue past the Memphis Hustle.

Here’s a video of Williams’ gutsy shot.

Williams was one of the lone bright spots in a bad season for LSU in 2022-23, and he’s now making his case to get a shot at the highest level.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

5 former LSU basketball players on NBA Summer League rosters

Five former Tigers look to prove themselves in Las Vegas this week as the main Summer League action begins.

Early play in the NBA Summer League began earlier this week in Salt Lake City, but the main event is set to begin in Las Vegas on Friday and will run through July 17.

When this year’s Summer League action gets started, it will feature a total of five former LSU players looking to impress their clubs and ultimately earn roster spots: [autotag]KJ Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Javonte Smart[/autotag], [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag], [autotag]Darius Days[/autotag] and [autotag]Duop Reath[/autotag].

Williams and Smart have already seen some action in the Salt Lake City early games.

Here’s a rundown on each of the former Tigers, how their careers have gone and what they stand to gain this week.

2 former LSU players to begin play at NBA Salt Lake City Summer League

Javonte Smart and KJ Williams will be in action this week.

A pair of former LSU basketball players are beginning their runs at the NBA Salt Lake City Summer League.

[autotag]Javonte Smart[/autotag] and [autotag]KJ Williams[/autotag] will compete in games on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday before the league moves to Las Vegas next week.

Smart, who went undrafted in 2021, will play for the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent the 2022-23 season with the G League’s Birmingham Squadron. Williams, who went undrafted in this year’s draft after earning All-SEC honors at LSU, is playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The two will face off against each other when the 76ers play the Thunder at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday night. That game will be televised on ESPN2. The games Monday and Wednesday will be on NBA TV.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1390]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Nets’ Cam Thomas continues hot streak, makes history with 3rd-straight 40-point game

Thomas becomes the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in three consecutive games.

Former LSU and current Brooklyn Nets guard [autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] is in the middle of what could be a breakout campaign.

After scoring 44 and 47 points in each of Brooklyn’s last two contests — becoming the second youngest player to score at least 44 in consecutive games after LeBron James — Thomas delivered another prolific performance in the Nets’ 116-112 loss against the Phoenix Suns, scoring 43.

At 21, he now becomes the youngest player to score at least 40 points in three-straight games.

It’s no coincidence that Thomas’ breakout has come in the wake of the Kyrie Irving trade, and the former 27th overall pick in 2021 is thriving in his expanded role. Only time will tell if he can keep it up, but Thomas is playing truly out of his mind right now.

Here were some of the best snapshots from his history-making night.

PHOTOS: Cam Thomas’ hot-streak continues as he drops 47 on Clippers, joins LeBron in exclusive club

Thomas is the second-youngest player to score at least 44 points in consecutive games after LeBron.

[autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] scored a career-high 44 points to lift the Brooklyn Nets over the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Surely, he wouldn’t top that mark any time soon. Right?

Wrong.

Thomas reset his career-best mark two days later when he scored 47 in a losing effort against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. He’s one of only eight players to score 40 points in back-to-back games this season, and at 21, he’s the second-youngest player to score at least 44 points in consecutive games, behind only Lebron James.

After recently trading Kyrie Irving, Thomas — who has spent most of his two seasons in a rotational role after he was taken with the 27th overall pick by Brooklyn back in 2021 — could be set to see a stark uptick in playing time.

He’s certainly making the most of his minutes right now, and we’ll have to see if he can continue this magical stretch when the Nets return to the court on Tuesday night to host the Phoenix Suns.

Here were the best photos from Thomas’ career game on Monday.

See Cam Thomas’ interesting response to LeBron comparison after back-to-back 40-point games

“I would have been a little bit more excited if it was Kobe,” Thomas joked after becoming the youngest player to score 44 in consecutive games after LeBron.

[autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] continued to take the NBA by storm on Monday night, pouring in 47 more points against the Los Angeles Clippers.

It’s his second-straight 40+ point game after he dropped 44 on the Lakers over the weekend. Thomas became the second-youngest player to hit the 40 mark in back-to-back games, joining the company of LeBron James.

Thomas was asked about that after the game and had an interesting response. Thomas acknowledged the achievement but said he would have been “a little bit more excited” if it was Kobe Bryant.

 

Thomas’ respect for Bryant comes as no surprise. Thomas wore 24 at LSU and continues to wear it with the Nets.

A former five-star from Virginia, Thomas has now attracted a national spotlight with the Nets. He’s a known commodity now, and his performance over the next few weeks will be interesting.

This could just be a flash in the pan, or Thomas could become the NBA’s next elite scorer. With the Nets’ recent trade of Kyrie Irving, there’s an opportunity for Thomas to make his mark.

[mm-video type=video id=01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th/01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th-94ecac2c303bf0527e447a0c1ca9e9f6.jpg]

[listicle id=64673]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Former LSU basketball star Cam Thomas scores 44 points for Nets against Wizards

The former Tigers standout is emerging as a scoring threat at the pro level.

[autotag]Cam Thomas[/autotag] was known as a “bucket getter” at LSU, and a few years into his NBA career, he’s beginning to make a mark as a pro.

Thomas, a former five-star recruit, was a late first-round pick by the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 following one season at LSU. He’s seen more playing time as of late, and the Nets are being rewarded for it with Thomas dropping 44 on the Wizards Saturday night.

Thomas has played over 20 minutes in three straight games, averaging 28 points per contest in that span.

Thomas came off the bench and helped spark a Nets comeback win.

It was Thomas’ fourth time crossing the 20-point mark this year and the 14th time in his career. In his lone season with the Tigers, Thomas averaged 23 per night and helped Will Wade’s Tigers pick up a win in the NCAA Tournament.

The Nets’ recent trade of Kyrie Irving could create even more opportunities for Thomas.

Thomas told the media he always had the ability that was on display last night. How the Nets use Thomas will be something to watch moving forward.

[mm-video type=video id=01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th/01gr2wm3bjz1tzmp08th-94ecac2c303bf0527e447a0c1ca9e9f6.jpg]

[listicle id=64575]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU forward Tari Eason selected by Houston Rockets with No. 17 pick in the 2022 NBA draft

Eason becomes the highest drafted Tiger since Ben Simmons went No. 1 in 2017.

Standout sophomore LSU forward [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag] wasn’t a lottery pick during Thursday night’s 2022 NBA draft, but he didn’t have to wait long after.

The transfer from Cincinnati, who was voted as the SEC’s sixth man in 2021-22, was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 17th overall pick, a spot which several recent mocks projected he could go. He becomes the highest-drafted Tiger since [autotag]Ben Simmons[/autotag] went with pick No. 1 in 2016.

He’s the second first-round pick from LSU in the last two seasons after [autotag]Cameron Thomas[/autotag] went to the Brooklyn Nets at No. 27 last year.

The Rockets finished last season 20-62 and had the worst record in the Western Conference. They also picked at third overall, a selection they used on Auburn forward Jabari Smith. Houston has some young pieces but remains in the middle of a rebuild. In Eason, it lands a high-upside player who may need to develop a bit to become a starter in the NBA.

After a relatively quiet freshman season with the Bearcats, he had a huge campaign with LSU this season. He averaged 16.9 points per game with 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He mostly came off the bench despite averaging 24.4 minutes, and his tendency to get into foul trouble played a role in that.

Still, this seems like a good opportunity for Eason to develop on a roster where the expectations will not be extraordinarily high, at least not immediately.

[mm-video type=video id=01fxnrd5fcs08srzd3e1 playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fxnrd5fcs08srzd3e1/01fxnrd5fcs08srzd3e1-ecc39556864b732b2a4e43c2c768a3e2.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=52075]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Tari Eason continues to climb boards ahead of 2022 NBA draft

Eason ranked No. 11 on the most recent 247Sports draft board.

With the NBA draft lottery being completed on Wednesday night and the combine going on this week in Chicago, next month’s draft will be here before we know it.

For LSU fans, all the eyes will be on forward [autotag]Tari Eason[/autotag]. The transfer from Cincinnati had a breakout sophomore season, winning the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award, and he is likely to hear his name called in the first round of the draft.

Originally slated as a mid-to-late round pick, Eason has seen his stock increase quite a bit in the last few weeks. He’s now seeing fairly regular lottery projections and in the most recent draft board from 247Sports’ Travis Branham, he sits at No. 11.

Key attributes: Defensive versatility, NBA-ready body, athleticism, motor

Stats: 16.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.9 SPG (52.1% FGs, 35.9% from three)

Tari Eason has a chance to be one of the best defenders in this entire class and he has found ways to be productive on the offensive end as well. He isn’t the most polished scorer but his size, strength, athleticism and activity level create scoring opportunities and he has developed his jumper.

Eason is certainly a dominant defensive player as he was a semifinalist for national player of the year in that category. He also finished in the top 10 among SEC players in terms of scoring average.

He could boost his stock even more in Chicago this week, but regardless, his wait on June 23 shouldn’t be very long.

[mm-video type=video id=01g2zpn5zh3ejjmst9bd playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g2zpn5zh3ejjmst9bd/01g2zpn5zh3ejjmst9bd-06de2c5d7e18e4b84fa11f5d42ab2908.jpg]

[pickup_prop id=”24432″]

[listicle id=51320]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno